Camaraderie
by Totally Kowalski
Summary: The start of a grand adventure of love, loss, betrayal and friendship. Rating for later chapters.
1. New neighbors, odd feelings

_Hello! Sorry about the lateness, but here is my next story. Penguins again? Yes, I will write other stories too, just not this minute. Please read and review. Good stories are made possible by viewers like you._

**Chapter 1**

Blowhole's base, unknown location, 2200 hours (10:00 pm.)

"I want to finish those pen-goo-ins once and for all." Blowhole announced to his agents, some of them standing in the shadows.

"I have a soldier who can destroy them." A short penguin with wild eyes grinned maniacally.

He was Koru, the most twisted and cruel penguin ever, he is a deranged psychopath who enjoys hurting others. He killed an entire town full of humans, just to capture one raccoon.

Blowhole considered him; he was one of the best agents the dolphin had. So Blowhole let Koru pick an agent.

Koru turned to a figure in the shadows, "Your mission, travel to Central Park Zoo and finish the enemy once and for all. Don't blow your cover; I want you to gain their trust and then STOMP ON THEM AND CRUSH THEM LIKE CHEAP CHEESE!" The other agents backed away slowly.

The animal hidden by the shadow nodded, wanting to protest, but knowing the penguin held a deadly threat over her head.

Blowhole and the rest of his agents laughed maniacally, he couldn't wait to seek his third revenge. And with the penguins gone, who can stop him? WHO?

**Central Park Zoo, 2230 hours (10:30 pm.)**

Private yawned loudly, peering through binoculars from the clock tower of Central Park Zoo. He was doing yet another night of recon after losing the fish game again. "Why me?" he grumbled.

Julien was staging an all night party again, which annoyed Skipper, but kept Private awake for recon.

"Who's de party animal, I'm de party animal! Give me a J-U-L-IEN!" He sang.

Skipper threw open the hatch and popped out of the fishbowl entrance, "Would you turn OFF that infernal contraption already?" he yelled for the tenth time that night.

"Kings stop bogeying when they want to!" Julien shot back, wiggling his tail tauntingly.

"Or, a certain penguin makes them stop, **permanently**." Skipper said menacingly. "You know who Rico is and what I can order him to do."

Maurice mumbled something to Julien that didn't quite reach Private's ear holes, but the lemur definitely looked nervous. Mort made a dash for the feet, only to be kicked into the wall a second later.

"Private!" The leaders' voice made the youngest one jump in surprise. "Bedtime!"

"Coming, sir" Private chirped, his British accent making him sound like a child.

He joined the others in HQ; Kowalski was already asleep, a dribble of drool peeked out of his mouth. Rico was playing with a stick of dynamite in his bunk, and Skipper was outside, threatening Julien some more.

The youngest penguin climbed into his bed and listened to the argument outside. His eyelids felt heavy, he heard Skipper enter and drifted into sleep.

Private had an odd dream that night. First, he was riding a unicorn on a rainbow; then he was surfing, using Kowalski as a surfboard; the dream changed and he was Rico, regurgitating and swallowing everything; and finally, he saw a shadow, and a pair of chocolate brown eyes.

He was reaching towards the mysterious shape when…

"PRIVATE! Get out of bed, soldier!" he was awake in a flash, staring into the exasperated face of his leader. "I'm not paying you to lollygag, now let's go!"

"Technically, you aren't paying us at all." Kowalski interrupted; Skipper scowled at him. "Sorry, Skipper."

Rico popped his head in the fishbowl entrance and grunted, pointing up.

"Alice alert!" Kowalski said, "Hurry."

They were up top just as Alice came by with their breakfast; she threw it into the habitat, not caring that some splashed into the water and one fish hit Rico.

"Yo, Alice!" a man's voice issued from the walkie-talkie.

"What? I'm busy feeding these lazy things!" She snapped back.

"Just want to know where you want me to park the delivery." The other zookeeper responded.

"Around the front, I'll unload them soon." She left to feed the lemurs.

Kowalski stared up at the sky; he had a very peculiar feeling, as if he had known there was a truck coming. He was so intently focused; he didn't hear Skipper calling him.

They went Alice's office with the chimps to use the computer.

Mason told the penguins that Phil read about new arrivals that came today.

"Alright boys, let's go greet our guests." Skipper said confidently.

Mason stopped him, "Phil just told me that they're lemurs."

Skipper's heart sank, "How many?"

"Just two."

"This does not wash. I'm filing a complaint."

The chimps continued their checkers game, leaving the penguins to slowly make their way back for visiting hours.

The four penguins entertained visitors until closing time; then they saw the crate. It was placed in the lemur habitat.

Rico saw Marlene heading over to greet the new visitor; Skipper reminded them to keep their eyes open for any spies.

Skipper ordered the team to move out, but Kowalski didn't appear to notice as he was staring at the sky again. Rico slapped the tall one and pulled him to the lemur habitat. Kowalski confided in his friend that he had an ominous feeling as well as the odd sensation that having new neighbors would be scary and oddly relieving.

"Ah, this is just not opening." Maurice grunted, trying to open the crate. Julien offered to help and promptly used Mort as a crowbar, putting his mouth on the wood and pulling the little lemur's legs.

"O-oowwoo…OWIE!" Mort squealed, a splinter diving into his tongue.

Rico spit up a crowbar and wrenched the crate open.

"Finally!" said an irritated voice .

_It sounded like a girl_, Marlene thought, _I'm sure we'll be great friends._

Almost immediately, a light gray lemur with brown tail markings stepped out; her orange eyes gleamed in the sunlight.

"Hey, y'all." She said with a southern accent. Julien stared at her with his mouth open. "I'm Josephine, but you can call me Josie. Close your mouth darling, you're gonna catch flies." She added to Julien.

"Hot- I mean, hi!" Julien said, his face burning red with embarrassment.

Skipper snorted, trying to contain his laughter.

"Tennessee." Marlene said, earning an appraising look from the new lemur. "I know a lot of accents."

"I'm British!" Private said happily.

Josie smiled, then looked around, her companion was nowhere to be seen.

The second lemur was still inside the crate. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" She barked.

Suddenly, Kowalski had the fleeting image of four animal children playing together. Movement from inside the box brought the scientist back to Earth.

_**A/N**__: Why did Kowalski have those feelings? Who are these lemurs? How are they important? What am I asking you all these questions? Stay tuned to find out! -T.K_


	2. I know you

_Next Chapter! Any comments and questions can be put in a review or PM, thank you for your patience._

**Chapter 2**

A dark brown lemur with white tail markings and chocolate brown eyes came out. She gave a big sigh, "FINALLY, I'm free!" she gasped, throwing herself on the leg of Julien's throne and hanging on for dear life.

Private was mesmerized, it was the lemur from his dream. _She's beautiful,_ He thought.

"Who the deuce are you?" Skipper demanded. He did not want another Julien in this zoo.

She stood up and glared at the short, flat-headed penguin. "What's it to you, flat head?"

Skipper growled, but she stopped paying attention. Her eyes were now riveted to the tall penguin between the one with the Mohawk and scar, and the otter.

"W-Wally?" She said softly.

Kowalski knew her, but he- _Wait; it couldn't be, is it?_

"Natty?" He said. His blue eyes grew wide.

She squealed and hugged him, knocking Mort aside as she sped past.

"Oh Kowalski, I missed you."

"Same here. But Nat, how did you find this place?"

"I turned the other forty-eight states around first."

"Pardon, there are forty-nine other states." Private chirped.

"Well, we're from Wisconsin." Nat stated proudly.

Skipper's beak dropped open in shock; he refused to believe that this drama queen was friends with the somewhat dignified Kowalski. "SPY!" he screamed, "There's no one we can trust boys!"

And with that, he disappeared, ordering the other penguins to follow him. Kowalski reluctantly followed Skipper away from his friend and into the HQ.

Marlene shook her head with exasperation. "I apologize in advance for, well, everyone." She said.

Nat shook with anger. _How dare he take my best friend away, I have half the mind to- _

"Hello? Miss Natalie?" Julien interrupted, wiggling his fingers.

Nat swung him around and twisted his arms backwards, pushing Julien into his throne.

"Do NOT call me Natalie." She growled harshly.

"Let…go…of…me, OW!" Julien groaned.

She let go, muttering threats as she went to explore the rest of the habitat.

Meanwhile, Kowalski was being questioned in the penguin habitat.

"How do you know that obnoxious drama queen?" Skipper growled, he wanted a lemur free day, but apparently it wasn't going to happen.

_**Flashback**_

_Young Kowalski swam in the river with his friend, an otter whom he had long forgotten the name of. A squirrel named Emma accompanied them. Nat wished to remain on ground._

"_I'm a lemur, we don't swim." Nat trembled._

"_Come on Natty! I'm in here." Emma smiled._

"_You can do it! We all have faith in you." Kowalski said._

"_I'll hold you." the otter said. Nat met his light brown eyes._

_She nodded and dipped her toes in the water, then slid into the river. Kowalski and Emma applauded. Nat held on to the otter, wishing never to let go._

"KOWALSKI!"

"Gah! The square root of pi is 1.7724538-" He stopped, staring into Skipper's angry face.

"We don't have time for daydreaming when there are spies floating around the zoo!"

"Aw, but they're so nice. Skipper, they can't possibly be spies." Private said.

"Yeah, that's what Manfredi and Johnson said during the bunny rebellion of '96; do you see Manfredi and Johnson now?" Skipper said angrily.

Private didn't reply. He was watching Kowalski who had slipped into another daydream. Skipper threw a fish at him and ordered the team to begin training.

Today's training was about not being able to trust your eyes. All four of them were trying to knock each other into the water while blindfolded.

Private braced himself. He heard a tap to his right and shot out his flipper…nothing was there. He heard another tap and pounced forward, landing on the ground, stifling a whimper.

Skipper knew it was Private who landed next to him, he stepped away from the smaller penguin, and then he froze. He heard shuffling and aimed a kick which was blocked by a flipper. Skipper aimed attack after attack, but it was blocked again. _He's taking a defensive strategy, must be Kowalski_. Skipper switched to defense and waited for an attack.

Private stood up and started punching the air, hoping to hit one of the others. He accidentally let out a grunt and was immediately thrown on his back by someone. He tried to get up, but was too slow. He was kicked again and tumbled into the water.

Skipper heard the splash and momentarily forgot about his target. In his moment of distraction, he was hit on the head. Skipper swung his foot low and managed to trip the other penguin. He backed away, almost falling off the edge of the platform.

Private watched the battle, wishing he hadn't lost so quickly. _Huh? Why's Kowalski standing there? Is he daydreaming again?_ His eyes snapped back to Rico who had just located Skipper again.

Rico grinned and jumped at Skipper, but his foot was caught. He felt himself fall to the ground. He heard a sigh and punched to the left; his flipper was pulled and he was karate kicked into the water. He surfaced and let out a groan of frustration.

Kowalski retreated to the other end of the platform; he knew that Skipper was the only one left now, and that he had highly agitated the leader by shoving the other two in the water. He remained in defense mode, ready for Skipper's attack.

Skipper waited for something to happen, he heard Private and Rico gasp. Feet thumped in front of him and he launched into attack, a pair of hands grabbed him and swung him around. "Let go!" he screamed. He was released and crashed into Kowalski before they both plummeted into the water.

The four penguins jumped back onto the platform with their blindfolds off. Skipper was ready to chew out Julien, but stopped. "You? It can't be."

Nat smiled at him, "Why not?"

"You're a girl."

"You think? And the problem with being a girl is…?"

"You can't just barge into classified training and shove me into the water!"

"I think I just did."

"Where's your respect?"

"In my toe!"

"GET OUT!"

"MAKE ME!"

The two of them growled at each other, they looked ready to tear each other's faces off.

"STOP!" Kowalski yelled. "Skipper, please stop. Nat, control yourself. What would Emma say if she saw you disrespecting others?"

"I wouldn't know because she's DEAD!" Nat growled. She stopped, trying to block tears from escaping. "I only came over here because King Weirdo keeps flirting with me."

Skipper felt awkward, "Okay, I'll see what I can do. Maybe you can hang out with Marlene."

Nat smiled, "Thanks, I'm off to visit your girlfriend!"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Skipper called to the lemur's retreating back.

Rico and Private snorted with laughter.

Skipper blushed red and muttered something about fixing the television.

"I didn't know the telly was broken." Private chirped. "Good job making them stop, Kowalski. What happened to Emma?"

Kowalski's face fell, "It's a long story that I've only ever told Skipper. And it's the reason I ran away from home to join Skipper's team."

"I want to hear it." Private said. Rico nodded in agreement.

The tall one sighed heavily, "Okay, here goes."

**A/N: Next chapter, learn more about Kowalski's past. Please read and review- T.K**


	3. Ghosts of Kowalski's past

_This chapter will be told in Kowalski's point of view. Also, there is death in this chapter and a lot of shouting. The rest of the story will get a little more intense and DRAMA._

**Chapter 3**

"Okay, I was raised in a small animal populated area in outskirts of Bayfield, Wisconsin. I lived with my father who had escaped a polar bear and a few hunting humans in his old zoo. Thirteen years ago, four friends were separated. Thirteen years ago, I held my limp friend in my flippers. Thirteen years ago, I ran away from home, never looked back, and met Skipper. So here's what happened that summer to me, Nat, Emma, and…I think his name was Izzy or Iggy. I'll call him Izzy. Here we go…"

JUNE, THIRTEEN YEARS AGO...

"Whoa!" I dodged the pinecone thrown at me by my best friend, Emma.

The four of us were standing on our heads, trying to play a game that Emma invented. I was terrible at it.

"You're supposed to catch it with your feet." She laughed, wiggling her squirrel toes.

Blood rushed to my head and I fell over."Well some of us have webbed toes and short legs." I grumbled.

"So, that would just be you then?" Nat said, waving her fingers tauntingly. Izzy the otter laughed as he helped me up.

"Okay, let's not be mean to him" Izzy reasoned.

I broke into a smile; I couldn't stay mad at my friends.

We chased each other around the park and laughed, getting closer to the human city.

"KOWALSKI!" The stern voice of my father echoed in the park. "WHY are you going near those humans? You KNOW you were told to stay away!"

I trembled, my friends broke into protests, but I was dragged away by my father.

"Ow, OW!" I yelled, he threw me into my room and slammed the door.

I sniffled and talked to my mom. Well, kind of. I never knew my mother; my dad refuses to talk about her. I don't think she's dead, I think she's lost and looking for me.

"Hey Mom, Dad yelled at me again. I know that if you were here, you'd protect me. Yesterday, he broke that Chemistry set I found in the garbage near the city. One day, I'll leave this place and look for you; and I'll bring along my friends. There's supposed to be a circus coming, I think I'll check it out. Well, goodnight Mom."

I rolled over and fell asleep.

"MORNING SLEEPING BEAUTY!" Nat's voice shook me from my dreams about being a giant ninja. "No time to waste, we've got to get to Izzy's!"

I stumbled out of bed and followed her to the river where Izzy lived with his mother. Izzy and Emma came out with a plate of fish; my stomach rumbled loudly. I reached for one, but Nat slapped my hand away.

"Natty!" I whined, my stomach rumbled louder.

"Fishletoe." She said; we all stared at her and she sighed, rolling her eyes. "It's like mistletoe. So if you want one, you have to kiss Emma."

"What?" I stared at Nat while Emma giggled. "Aww, fine! Anything for my breakfast."

She told me to close my eyes and lean forward. I did as she instructed and waited.

_SMACK!_

I was thrown on my back by a pile of mud and worms which now covered my face.

Nat and Emma were shaking with laughter while Izzy covered his mouth, clearly trying not to betray a snicker.

I scooped off the mud and hurled it at them. Emma dodged it, but Nat was hit. She tumbled backwards into the water.

"AHH! HELP, I can't swim!" she gasped for air. I was too horrified to move.

Izzy swiftly slid into the water, placing an arm around the lemur and pulled her out.

I apologized repeatedly, but she simply smiled. "I'll get you for that." She whispered harshly.

I was about to respond, but was stopped by my friends gasping. I turned and came face to face with my father. His face was contorted with rage and disappointment.

"Are you TRYING to kill someone? What's wrong with you? You weren't supposed to leave your room. No more meals for the rest of the day." He growled, pulling me to our tin house.

_No more meals?_ I thought. _I haven't even eaten anything today_.

Later that afternoon, I was playing with my broken test tubes when I heard a tap at my tiny window. It was Emma.

"I'm grounded for the rest of the week." I groaned, rubbing my hungry belly.

"Stuff your beak with this then." She smiled, shoving a basket of fish into my window along with a bowl of water. I happily gobbled my meal and slurped the water.

"Thanks Em, you're a life saver." I mumbled with my mouth full.

Emma's smile faded into a frown, "I'm sorry we tricked you."

I gulped and laughed, "What are friends for?"

We smiled at each other for a while until she had to leave.

I fell asleep on a full stomach.

_TAP. TAP_

"Wally, wake up!"

I groaned and turned on my other side.

"Seriously! This is an emergency!"

I turned to my window to find Nat's tear stained face staring at me.

"What happened?" I asked, bolting to the window, my heart thumped.

"He's gone. I-Izzy was t-taken by h-humans. I was on my tree when I saw them come and take him and his mother. I tried to stop them, but they kicked me away."

I growled, "Pull me through the window."

She tugged my flippers and I squeezed through my window.

We rushed to the riverbank where Emma was waiting for us. Izzy's home was destroyed and the Otters were gone.

"We'll look for him." I said determinedly.

"They went to the human town." Nat trembled.

"Kowalski and I will go; you make sure that no one else is hurt." Emma said confidently.

Nat nodded in agreement and sat where Izzy's home once was.

Emma and I walked through the forest; we heard noises as we approached the town.

"Hey, the circus is here." Emma squealed.

"Focus on the mission." I told her, "We have to find Izzy."

The circus tent looked inviting, but we couldn't be distracted. I was about to say something to Emma, but she was already entering the tent. I sighed and ran in. Humans were laughing and pointing at trapeze artists and silly animals. Emma had a disgusted look on her face.

"Look at what they're making him do." She growled harshly, pointing at a penguin in a cage.

The penguin was eating his fish, then regurgitating it, and forced to eat it again. He looked like he wanted to attack the human.

My beak dropped, I couldn't believe it.

Forgetting that humans couldn't hear me, I screamed, "STOP! Can't you see he wants to be free?"

The penguin looked at me and smiled, his beak had a scar on it. Someone heard me squawk and Emma and I rushed out and didn't stop until we reached the forest.

"I'm…sorry…" I panted.

Emma patted my back consolingly. I showed every sign of wanting to return, but she pulled me back towards home.

We heard a twig snap and we froze. Voices reached us, they were men. A bang echoed and we ran, but crunching noises indicated we were being followed. Another bang resounded and Emma screamed. I ran ahead before I realized she was not with me. I ran back and saw her on the ground, clutching her chest which was bleeding.

"N-no…NO! EMMA!" I picked her up and carried her on my back. I ran back to the familiar patch of trees we played in. Nat yelled with joy and ran towards us. I saw her face pale when she saw Emma.

Emma's breathing was ragged. I saw my father approach us; he looked at the young squirrel with sadness.

"Nat…Wally...keep…close…friends…uungh." She no longer moved. Nat and I buried her where we used to play. Nat was crying; she now had no family except for me.

My father looked ready to kill me. He shoved me in my room and screamed that everything was my fault and that he never wanted to see me again.

I didn't want to be terrified of him anymore. I grabbed a bag that Emma made me for my birthday and a canteen.

I squeezed out of my window with difficulty and ran to the riverbank. My canteen filled and a few snacks packed in my bag, I turned away from my home and walked east.

"Wait!" It was Nat. "I'm going with you!"

She was carrying a brochure from the circus.

"Can I have that?" I asked.

"Sure, but did you hear me?" She whispered, "I have no family, nobody cared about me except for you three. And I might find Izzy."

I agreed to let her follow me, and so we set off eastward. We edged our way around the city and continued on.

Nat and I chatted about our lost friends and family. I told her that I was going to find someone to free that penguin from the circus. We traveled for miles, trying to avoid humans. I assumed we were in Indiana by now, but Nat wasn't listening, she was staring dead ahead.

Two humans were packing up their campsite and chatting. Nat and I jumped up into a tree to hear them better.

"Oi!" the bigger man said, "What did you do with 'em?"

"Wha?" the shorter one asked.

"Otters you found back in 'Consin."

"Wisconsin? Yeah, I sold them to a guy who was taking them down south, New Mexico, maybe."

Nat and I stared at each other for a while. I knew she wanted to look for Izzy, but I wanted to find my mother whom I thought was somewhere out east.

"Good luck. I hope to see you again one day." She told me, giving me a big hug which I returned.

"I'll be waiting. Emma always said that the things we lose come back to us in the end. I think she got that from a movie." I said.

I watched her hop from branch to branch as she left. I felt empty, like I'd just lost my childhood. I am now an adult, I have to take care of myself.

I traveled for days, until my food and water supply ran out.

_Dizzy_. I collapsed on the dirt, my stomach growled. I thought it was over, until I saw a pair of orange feet land in front of me. I tried to see who it was, but I blacked out.

"Lucky we got to him, eh?" a male's voice reached my ear holes.

I opened my eyes to find myself in some sort of secret base.

"Bone, Johnny Bone, Commander of the Antarctic Penguin Force." The penguin smiled, his brown eyes gleamed.

"I don't know, looks kind of scrawny." Said a shorter penguin with a flat head that looked two years older than me.

"And you look a bit well around the middle." I shot back.

He chuckled, "I'm Skipper. And who might you be, soldier?"

My eyes grew wide. "Kowalski's my name, and I'm not a soldier."

"Yet." Bone said.

They explained that they needed more soldiers on the Force. I accepted right away, and I told them that I wanted to be a science guy.

So, they put me on Skipper's team as lead strategist and Skipper's options man. I met Dennis Manfredi and Lenny Johnson who were also on the team.

Even though I was the new one, they let me pick the first mission. I remembered the circus penguin and began planning.

My first mission was tracking down the tent and coming up with a plan to rescue the penguin. We found the tent in Oklahoma. I felt odd being so close to where Natty might be. My plan went off without a flaw. We managed to take the penguin to safety and add him to our team. I noticed he had a Mohawk.

He couldn't talk so I tried to ask him yes or no questions. Through questioning, I found out that his name was Rico and he was taken from his home and put in a circus when he was younger. We welcomed him to the team with open flippers.

I felt another odd sensation. I was home…this was my family now...I was, for the first time in a while, happy.

_**A/N:**__ And that's my story on Kowalski's past. Please read and review. Stay tuned for more from yours truly -T.K._


	4. Stunning events

_Next chapter…_

_To answer some reviewers_

_**MsSocialIssues**__: Yup, Nat hates Julien._

_**StoriesAreMagic:**__ Would you like me to eventually put up a chapter about how they met Private? Also, I just picked a random state for where they came from. Izzy is a boy and Marlene's from California._

_Thank you to all of the other reviewers._

**Chapter 4**

Nat smiled as she left Marlene's habitat. _Nice girl, I only wish Emma and Izzy were here._ She saw Skipper head back inside the HQ. Julien looked irritated from being told off by the penguin. Seeking a golden opportunity to annoy the lemur king again, Nat jumped on his throne.

"Um, excuse me?" a squeaky voice came from below.

Nat looked around and spotted Mort. "Hey there, how can I help you?"

"Miss Natalie, you can't sit on the throne." Mort said. To further agitate Julien, Nat said that Mort was the only one allowed to call her Natalie.

"Didn't he say that you can let me do what I want?" Nat said slyly.

"Well, yes." Mort looked confused; he was clearly trying to understand what was going on.

"Then you shouldn't say I can't sit here when you were told to do my bidding." Nat chuckled.

At that moment, Julien came up to the throne.

"Off the royal throne." He ordered.

"No." Nat said simply.

"No? Listen here, I am king and that is my throne. Are you understanding perfectly now?" Julien growled.

"Yeah, I don't see your name on it."

"Royal throne. Key word, royal. I don't see you being royal, so GET OFF!"

"Of course I am a queen; I was voted Top drama Queen five years running." Nat mimicked Julien's accent, which annoyed him even more.

Josie came to see what the fuss was about. "What's going on?"

"Natalie here will not get off my throne." Julien whined, giving Josie a flirty look.

WHAM!

Nat had Julien pinned to the ground, "WHAT did I say about calling me that?" She screamed, "You are DISGUSTING, flirting with me and Josie. GOSH! Get it through your thick head, I DESPISE being the same species as YOU!"

Josie managed to pull Nat off of the king. Nat scoffed and stormed off towards the bushes.

Josie helped Julien up. "Julien are you okay, darlin'?" she asked kindly.

"No, my kingliness was insulted." He muttered.

"Give her time to cool down, and then apologize." Josie said while rubbing Julien's back. "She just needs to blow off steam. If you ask me, I don't think that you two would make a good couple."

"Yeah, I guess no one will like the king which is me." Julien sighed.

He sighed dejectedly, thinking about how he could possibly satisfy all the lemurs; then without warning, Josie kissed him. He was shocked at first, but began to like it and kissed her back. Maurice's jaw dropped and he chivied Mort away from the scene.

Marlene, who was about to visit the penguins, looked over and saw the two lemurs; she couldn't wait to tell Skipper.

The two lemurs broke apart and sat in numb silence for a minute.

Julien broke it first, "I don't know what to say." He whispered.

"Thanks." Josie mumbled. She stood up and went to get herself a smoothie while Julien stared at the sky dreamily.

Meanwhile, Kowalski was now finishing the training session with Skipper while Private and Rico watched.

"Hey guys!" Marlene said, opening the door to their HQ.

"Marlene!" Skipper yelled in shock. "Do you ever knock?"

Marlene smiled, "Skipper, that's what I ask every time you four burst into my habitat spontaneously."

"Touché. Alright, what is it?" Skipper asked.

"Guess what I just saw!"

"Ringtail with a one way ticket to Madagascar?"

"Ye- what? No. I saw Josie and Julien kissing!"

The penguins gaped at Marlene.

"No way." Skipper gasped.

"Wow." Kowalski said.

"Aww, they make a cute couple." Private squeaked, "I bet they're completely in love."

Rico gagged and Skipper slapped the younger one. Private apologized for not remembering that Rico had gooey love mush sensitivity.

Skipper was about to question the otter some more when the zoo bells echoed, it was opening time; Marlene ran to her habitat just as the zoo gates opened.

The crowds of tourists and children were everywhere, chatting and laughing. A couple of six year olds got a laugh when Mason and Phil threw poop at their parents.

Skipper signaled the others to begin their water dance routine. Rico slid into the water while Private spun around adorably. Kowalski and Skipper jumped into the water and stood on top of the swimming Rico. Private then scooped up water in his beak and jumped on top of the pyramid of penguins and spun around, spraying water like a fountain. Then they finished with a round of butt wiggles and earned a pile of fish from the crowd.

Alice led a tour group of second graders around, one of which asked a lot of questions.

"Are there going to be baby penguins?" a small sandy haired boy asked.

"No." Alice asked through gritted teeth.

"Baby otters?"

"No."

"Baby elephants?"

"_NO_."

"Baby lem-"

"Listen kid, if I tell you a secret, will you quit asking questions?" Alice half shouted at the child.

"Yup!" The boy smiled.

"One of the new lemurs we got is having a baby soon."

Maurice's jaw dropped. _A child…in our habitat, who will create more chaos than Julien? _He thought.

The penguins looked at each other, stunned.

"REALLY?" the boy squealed. Alice nodded. The boy rushed off to tell his friends while Alice sighed in relief.

Alice stared right at Maurice, who was stock still. "Yeah, you're having a new friend." She said, misreading the look on the lemur's face.

Marlene heard the boy talking to his friend about the news. _I wonder, is it Nat. She is pretty emotional and dramatic._ She dove into the water and leapt out spinning; earning applause from the kids.

Julien looked at both lemur girls; Josie was standing on the bouncy, playing with Mort. Nat was waving absentmindedly to the humans.

_**A/N: Gasp! Which lemur is it? TELL ME! Oh wait, I'm writing the story, keep patience for the next chapter. Please read and review. - T.K**_


	5. Solemn words

**Chapter 5**

As soon as the zoo gates closed, Kowalski whipped out his abacus. "Hmm, there is a highly statistical improbability that Julien is the father of the baby. But there is a fifty-fifty chance of Josie or Natty being pregnant."

"Hold on, Alice could have been mistaken again." Skipper said; he shuddered at the mistake Alice had made about there being a female among the four penguins. "That being said, let's go interrogate the spies."

Kowalski rolled his eyes and followed the other three to the lemur habitat.

Julien was about to question the girls when the penguins jumped up to the platform.

Nat dropped the mangoes she was juggling, "Hey Wally, Rico, British cutie, Flatty, Maurice, Mortopolis…Chief Weirdo."

"Can I be captain paranoia?" Skipper asked, scoffing at her attitude, and then he snickered. "Mortopolis? What's that, a disease?"

"No-oo" Nat said, "It's my cute nickname for him. Maurice didn't want one, and I don't think Rico does either."

Skipper shook his head slowly. Julien ran right up to Nat and stared into her eyes, she stared coldly back at him.

"Two words, personal space; and another two, breath mints." Nat snapped.

"Don't deny anything Miss Natalie, we know your secret!" Julien said; he was an inch away from her face.

Her eyes grew wide; she didn't even berate him for calling her Natalie. "W-what?" she stuttered.

"You are de baby holder!" Julien declared; the penguins groaned.

"Ringtail, I'M the interrogator!" Skipper shoved Julien aside.

Julien stumbled, and then pushed Skipper off the platform.

He landed in the bushes.

"Oopsie."

"RINGTAIL!"

Josie ran over just as Skipper jumped back up, covered with mud and leaves with an expression that told the lemur to run fast.

"Stop," Private pleaded, "we came over here for a reason."

Nat huffed, "What do you want?"

"I know you are having a baby." Julien smirked.

Nat's jaw dropped, "Are you saying I'm FAT?" she shrieked, now having to be restrained by Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico.

"No." Skipper grunted, straining to keep Nat from clobbering Julien.

"Ehh!" Rico struggled to keep hold of Nat.

"Nat…he didn't mean…like that…just you…or Josie…" Kowalski panted.

"Don't fight, please, it's me." Josie said in a small voice.

Julien gasped. Nat stopped struggling and the penguins collapsed in a heap. "Er, congratulations." Nat said awkwardly.

Josie smiled sadly and beckoned them to the bouncy and they all sat around. Marlene came over to join them.

"We were in love and thought we'd be together forever. He was crazy for me and I for him. But one day, I caught him cheating on me; he denied and argued with me. And after a few fights, he left."

Julien growled, "Show me this coward, I will make him pay for the wrong he has done!"

"Yeah, where is he?" Nat said angrily while Marlene nodded, "We'll teach him to mess with girls."

"Dead." Josie mumbled, "I went to give him a piece of my mind, but the zoo he lived in had caught fire, there was only one who survived, a baby elephant. He told me he saw a psychotic penguin laughing maniacally."

Everyone except Skipper glanced at Rico.

"Koru." Skipper whispered; his eyes fixed on the bouncy below him. He stood up suddenly, his flippers curled into fists, he began panting hard.

Nat gasped, staring at Skipper.

"He's still alive?" Kowalski's hoarse voice penetrated the still air.

Private stared at his teammates, even Rico seemed worried. "Who's Koru?" the young one said.

"The reason you never knew your family, the reason you were raised in Britain with your Grandmother." Skipper said, he swayed and stared at them, his blue eyes were icebergs. "He KILLED my brothers and my father!" he shook so hard that a feather fell off his body.

Silence…then Mort broke it. "FEEEEET!"

"Mort, how many times am I to be telling you OFF THE ROYAL FEET! See what he does Maurice? Why must he do it?" Julien screamed, kicking Mort into Nat, both of them flew off the bouncy and landed at the foot of the plastic volcano.

"Why must they be so ignorant?" Skipper whispered, leaving for the HQ. Marlene ran after him while the others stayed on the bouncy.

"Skipper! Skipper, wait!" Marlene caught him before he entered HQ. He met her brown eyes and sat on the edge of the platform, staring into the water. She sat next to him and put a warm paw on his back.

"Thanks." Skipper stared into the water absentmindedly.

Marlene sighed. "I don't know what's going on, but I can help."

Skipper looked at the slowly fading daylight in deep thought. Marlene scooted closer, placing her head on his side. "Skipper, let me in. Let me help."

"What's done is done. You can't do anything." Skipper said flatly.

"I can be there for you."

"Thanks Doll face."

Marlene wanted to giggle, but sensed it was the wrong time and simply rubbed his back.

Meanwhile, Maurice was scolding Julien and Mort.

"Honestly, great timing." Maurice finished sarcastically. "Nat, you okay?"

Nat nodded, but she looked horrified.

"I know." Kowalski said, "He was a twisted penguin. Psychotic, but not in the good way like Rico."

He went on to explain that Koru was responsible for more than a thousand human and animal deaths across the world. Kowalski and Rico had never seen Koru, only the path of destruction left by him. "But Skipper saw him. He was only a baby when Koru attacked the penguin village that Skipper lived in and most of his family perished."

"What about me?" Private asked, feeling scared and excited.

"I have no idea" Kowalski said, Private sighed, "I'm sorry Private, Skipper knew you a few years before I joined. And even if I did know, I couldn't tell you. That would be a story that he'd have to share with you. Nat, are you okay?"

Nat had stood up so suddenly. "I've done something terrible." She whimpered.

"Ah, you are ready to apologize to the royal me." Julien replied smugly.

"No, dolt!" Nat screamed.

"Natty, wha-"

"No! I-I…" Her eyes shone with fear, everyone was staring at her.

"What does this button do?" Mort asked, holding a small device with a red button.

"NO MORT!" she yelled, but it was too late, the little lemur slapped the button obliviously.

Nat screamed again, she stepped backwards, wanting to disappear.

Skipper and Marlene heard the scream and ran over.

"Is everything okay?" Marlene asked.

"Hello." A voice came from the shadows.

Nat trembled, the penguins got into fighting formation.

"Show yourself and we may or may not hurt you." Skipper said.

A light colored meerkat stepped into view, he had small black eyes.

"Wh-Who are you?" Private asked.

"I am Simon. And you are about to be knocked out."

"What does that eve-" _THUMP!_ Skipper was out cold.

Agents appeared from nowhere and one by one, the penguins and lemurs fell.

Julien was groggy and the last thing he heard was Simon laughing evilly, then he fainted.


	6. Captured!

_Forgot to mention, Marlene was also taken prisoner. Please read and review_

**Chapter 6**

Private was falling, deeper and deeper into the darkness that pressed on his eyes. He felt something cold, and metallic. He realized that he was somewhere, cold and lonely. Eyes still shut; Private's beak caught a horrid stench of dirt, blood, and poor hygiene. He couldn't taste anything, so he let his fourth sense explore. He heard shuffling and a small chuckle. Mort whimpered from somewhere to his left, one of the guys groaned.

"Ow, my royal booty." It was Julien, he sounded closer than Mort.

"Private." A voice whispered, he opened his eyes and saw Josie on the left, through two sets of metal bars.

He finally stood and saw that they were in a dimly lit room, cages holding the lemurs, penguins and Marlene. The lemurs were awake and nervously picking at the bars, Josie clutched her stomach as if to make sure the baby wasn't harmed.

Private looked to the right; also in separate cages were the other penguins and Marlene. Kowalski, who was on Private's immediate right, shook his head and stared coldly at the door. Marlene had woken up and was trying to wake Rico up. Another groan sounded, Skipper, between Rico and Kowalski, stood up and immediately started pounding the bars.

"Let us out!" he squawked.

"Well, Pen-gyoo-ins, you have awa-akened." A cold voice came from the shadows.

"Blowhole!" Skipper growled, "As soon as Rico wakes up, we're busting out of this joint."

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The crazed laughter echoed through the room, Skipper stood still, eyes wide with terror. A penguin with a twisted face loomed into the light, he trembled, but unlike Private, he wasn't afraid. He always trembled due to his psychotic nature.

Rico had finally awoken and growled at the super psycho.

"Now now, we can all play nice." Simon said, stepping forward, "Wouldn't want anything to happen to your precious friends, would you?"

Private and Josie screamed, they were being taken out of the room.

"No! If you harm her or the baby, I will kill you!" Julien shouted, looking angry. Maurice's mouth dropped open, Julien never threatened to kill, but his fur was standing on end and he looked dangerous. "I…You?"

Nat had entered the room; unlike the others, she wasn't caged or tied. She stared at Kowalski who was avoiding her eyes.

"TRAITOR!" Skipper screamed, "I knew there was something wrong with you!"

"Let me explain!" Nat pleaded.

"WAHAHAHAHA!" Koru cackled, "Barfy over there should JOIN ME!" He pointed at Rico and then jumped on the cage, "What do you say? We could BLOW UP STUFF! Do you like that? WAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Rico held his beak and mimed barfing, Koru's breath smelled awful. He shook his head vigorously, there was no way he would abandon his team.

"Silence!" Blowhole snapped, "Kowalski, you will help Simon with our new inventions or your friends will suffer."

"JOSIE!" Julien bellowed, pounding on the bars.

Kowalski was released from his cage and pushed in front of Simon; he immediately jumped on Skipper's cage and began to pick the lock. Koru tackled Kowalski to the ground.

Blowhole pushed a button on his segway, "Hey Bob, torture the prisoners, would you?" He grinned evilly.

A high pitched scream echoed from far away, another scream joined it.

"PRIVATE!" Skipper yelled.

"STOP!" Kowalski pleaded, shaking with sobs, "Leave them. I'll do what you want." He bowed his head and reluctantly followed Simon out of the room. Nat followed them out and to the laboratory.

"Come on Rico, don't you want to join Koru? You can blow up what you want, and there are no rules. You have complete freedom."

Rico grunted and hacked up a chainsaw and cut through the steel beams. He was immediately attacked by agents dressed in dark, coarse material. Rico threw a piece of dynamite on the ground and it exploded. Mort covered his eyes in horror.

The dust cleared and Rico was gone, a pile of feathers and some blood were on the ground.

"RICO, NO!" Marlene and Skipper yelled at the same time.

Koru smiled, "I guess he declined our invitation, WAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Julien's jaw dropped, "Did he just-?"

"Yup." Maurice said weakly.

"And is he-?" Julien gasped.

"Looks like it." Maurice responded, "Mort, keep your eyes covered."

Mort nodded, wishing he was back at the zoo being kicked away from the feet.

Skipper shook with anger, terror and sadness. Blowhole seemed satisfied and exited the room with Koru, two shadowed figures stood by the doors.

Maurice, Julien, and Marlene looked at each other. They heard another scream and Skipper roared in frustration.

Meanwhile, Kowalski was shown the laboratory. He couldn't help but be amazed at how they got all this technology.

Simon noticed Kowalski's expression, "Amazing, isn't it?"

Kowalski shot him a glare, "I am going to bust out of here with my team and take you down."

Simon smirked, "I know something you don't."

Kowalski rolled his eyes and huffed, turning to the liquid chemicals. He heard footsteps and saw Nat. "What do you want?" he growled harshly.

"Leave." She ordered Simon, "I can handle him." Simon slid out of the room, muttering under his breath. "Kowalski I-"

"Don't. You gained our trust, played with us, and led us to our doom." The penguin scoffed.

"Wally-" Nat pleaded, tears in her eyes.

"No!" Kowalski said angrily, "There is no excuse for this!"

"Please just listen-"

"I won't. Do you realize that Mort is merely a child? Also, you are putting Josie's unborn child in danger."

"I-"

"Didn't mean to? Well, you sure meant to betray us. I thought we were best friends, I guess I was wrong."

"But I-"

"What?" Kowalski snapped, squeezing a test tube which broke; the glass pierced his flipper and he swore.

"I didn't have a choice." Nat said quickly, before Kowalski could interrupt.

Kowalski scoffed again; there was an explosion from down the corridor, "What do you mean?"

"They would have killed them." She whispered.

"Who?" Kowalski asked, mildly curious.

"A whole riverbed of otters. Around two-hundred families with small children; Izzy was there." Nat said. "They showed me pictures, I know him."

Dr. Blowhole entered with Simon. "Well, one less penguin to deal with." He grinned, "Rico no longer exists. Lemur, watch the prisoners."

Nat looked at Kowalski, horrified. Kowalski paled. _No, it can't be. He would have gotten out alright._ Kowalski tried to convince himself. _Rico knows weapons and he's psychotic, not brainless. He has a wacky plan to get us out of here, I just know it._

Nat left the room, giving Kowalski a pitiful look.

He received a smack to the head, "Get working." Simon snarled.

Kowalski picked up more test tubes, cursing Simon out under his breath. He spotted a turquoise substance and glanced at Simon to make sure his back was turned. Kowalski tinkered with a few liquids before working on a giant robot machine.

A scream echoed through the halls and Kowalski fought back a sob as he heard Skipper roar in frustration.

In a separate room, Josie looked up to see Nat enter. Nat whispered to the mink named Bob and he left.

Private sat, trembling and bleeding in a corner of his cage.

Josie stared at Nat furiously, "Explain, now." She said harshly.

"I was forced by them to be here. I gave up searching for Izzy one year ago and decided to find Kowalski, the only family I had left." She drew a breath, "They captured and tortured me and I-I broke. I told them I was looking for a friend named Kowalski and they said I had to help them if I wanted to see him. Then two weeks ago, I was planning on escaping and finding someone to help when they said they found Izzy." She gasped, "They wanted me to take the penguins or they would take out a riverbed of innocent otters. There were children playing and I couldn't let them be destroyed. I honestly didn't know that Kowalski was at Central Park, or little Mort and I didn't know you were pregnant. I was planning on telling Skipper before Mort found the button that called them."

Josie stared openmouthed at her.

"Private?" Nat whispered, "Are you-"

"No!" He screamed hysterically, "RICO! SKIPPER! KOWALSKI!"

Nat's eyes filled with tears, "R-Rico's dead." She sobbed.

Private shook, he approached the bars and stared her in the eyes. Her brown orbs told the truth. Private slid to the floor, sobbing and clutching the ground.

"I'm going to get you out of here." Nat promised, touching his feathery head, she felt bumps and heard him whimper. "What did they do to you?" Nat whispered.

Private didn't respond. Nat looked around and found the keys; she released Josie and Private. Josie stumbled out and knelt down next to Private.

"Hey, don't worry, we'll get out alright." Josie said, trying to smile.

Private groaned. Nat suddenly screamed, causing the other two to jump.

"Sorry, they'll start to become suspicious if they don't hear screams." Nat said, she walked over to the back wall, which like the rest of the place, was a dirty gray. She shifted a box to reveal an air vent. "There, you can go. I'll cover this."

"Thank you." Josie said, crawling through.

"Go on, Private." Nat said encouragingly.

"What about you?" Private asked; his face was full of concern.

Nat bowed her head and turned, "I deserve this place." She said softly, "Skipper and the others are on the left."

Private glanced back at Nat.

"Private, come on." Josie said.

Private followed her; they crawled through the dusty vents until they heard a familiar whining voice. Julien was directly below them. Josie motioned for Private to go down while she mounted a distraction. She crawled over to the other vent and jumped down. Josie knocked on the door. Private saw one of the guards leave the room and then there was a thud. The other guard ran out and Private heard another thud. Private took that as his signal.

He jumped onto Julien's cage just as Josie entered the room. Skipper smiled, "Private, you're okay!"

Private looked around, there was nothing to pick the locks with. "Now what?"

_**A/N: Good question, Private. Tune in next chapter for Captured! Part 2: The Escape. If you have any questions please PM me or ask in a review. Did I already mention the disclaimer? It's in my profile in case you were wondering, thank you. -T.K**_


	7. The Escape

_Thanks for reviewing._

_StoriesAreMagic aka, Sam: Expect the unexpected ;)_

**Chapter 7**

Private stood on Julien's cage, looking around. He spotted something below his feet; it was a coarse, white penguin feather. He sniffed it; it smelled like fish and explosives. Private looked up, the vent had a visible dent in it and he was sure that it wasn't he who did it.

_Can it be?_ He thought, staring up. He wasn't even distracted by the footsteps of Josie entering cautiously.

Julien gasped as Josie came in. "Josie, you're okay!"

"SHH!" Josie pressed a paw to his mouth.

Marlene watched Private curiously, "Private, what are you doing?" She asked.

He didn't answer, but leapt down and examined the feathers on the ground. "They're identical…" he whispered to himself, staring from the feathers on the ground to the one on his flipper."

Back in the laboratory, Kowalski was tinkering with the water they were given. He set out a cup and there was a bubbling noise that went unnoticed by Simon. "Boy, I'm thirsty!" Kowalski said, turning around and taking a gulp of water from the cup he had put out.

"I suppose we could use a water break." Simon muttered, heading over to the emotionless penguin.

He gulped some and grimaced, "Yuck! What do they put in this water?" he asked. "What are you doing?" he eyed Kowalski's sudden move towards the robot.

He turned around and opened his beak, "Hello, I am Kowalski. And _you_ are about to be knocked out." He smirked.

Simon glared and opened his mouth, but he was too groggy to respond; he swayed and fell to the ground with a thud. Kowalski shut him in a cabinet and locked it.

He bolted to the robot and started it, then there was an explosion from somewhere above and thumps followed them. Kowalski steered the robot out and entered the room where Skipper and the others were being held.

"Kowalski!" Private squealed, jumping out of the robot's path.

Kowalski pressed the button he installed and out of the robot's claw shot a chainsaw. He swiped the bars twice, creating holes for the caged animals to escape from. He let out a triumphant smile.

Blowhole and Koru burst into the room.

"It was _you_ who threatened Natty." Kowalski stated angrily.

"YES! An EMPTY THREAT!" Koru smiled evilly, "We **DESTROYED** that riverbed of otters before your friend JOINED US!"

"You lied to her!" Kowalski growled, gripping the controls

"Setting a trap for me upstairs, hoping I would DIE? I suppose you think you're geniuses, eh?" The dolphin yelled madly, he smacked a button and a giant metal fist came down from the ceiling. "I will ELIMINATE you, just like your little friends!"

Kowalski got out just in time, the fist smashed the once gloriously built robot; metal and glass flew across the room.

Kowalski put his flippers up, ready to fight; Skipper stood next to him; Mort hid behind Maurice, whimpering; Julien held onto Josie and Marlene was hiding behind Skipper.

"We didn't set any traps!" Private protested; Koru tackled him to the ground.

"Oh? And who DID? A GHOST? WAHAHAHAHA!" Koru said, digging his flippers into Private's feathers.

Private screamed in pain, Skipper and Kowalski started forward when Koru was hit from behind and knocked off of Private.

"ME!" a raspy voice came from behind.

"RICO!" The penguins, Marlene, and lemurs except Mort, yelled.

"YOU? I thought you were dead!" Blowhole growled.

Rico hacked up a bat and smashed Blowhole's controls.

"No…WHY?" He wailed, glaring at Rico.

"**SELF DESTRUCT IN ONE MINUTE."**

Dr. Blowhole looked around and saw Nat smashing a remote. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, LEMUR?"

"PAYBACK!" Nat screamed, "You tricked me!"

Rico blew a hole in the wall and pushed Julien towards it.

"RUN!" Julien screamed as he pulled Josie through the hole; Mort and Maurice ran after them.

"SKIPPER, HELP!" Marlene was being pinned to the wall by Koru, his smelly beak an inch from her face.

Skipper punched Koru and wrestled him to the ground. "Marlene, run!" Marlene ran outside and found the lemurs, hiding.

"You are DEAD!" Koru screamed.

"I'll gladly drag you with me!" Skipper yelled, slamming him into the ground.

WHAM! Skipper was pinned to the wall, choking.

BAM! A webbed foot collided with Koru's skull, leaving him in a daze.

"Brilliant, Private." Skipper gasped, massaging his neck.

Kowalski and Rico slammed into Blowhole and sent him falling off his segway.

"**TEN SECONDS TO SELF DESTRUCT, TEN…NINE…"**

Rico and Private jumped out the hole and landed on the grass below.

"Come on, soldier!" Skipper ordered, but Kowalski didn't move.

"KOWALSKI!" Private shouted.

"Natty, let's go!" Kowalski yelled.

Nat remained rooted to the spot. "No, it's my fault; I have to pay the consequences."

_Five seconds_. Skipper thought. _I can't believe I'm about to do this_.

Kowalski was knocked off his feet and shoved through the hole. Private and Rico dragged him away.

Skipper rushed towards Natty as the place gave a rumble.

"**THREE…TWO…ONE... BYE-BYE." **

_BOOM!_

Fire spouted from the center and a column of smoke billowed out, followed by falling rubble. A black and gray blur streaked across the ground, between the falling pieces. Another bang sounded and rubble was shot across empty meadow, burning near the trees.

The building glowed in the dark meadow. The flames flickered and crackled. A rumble came from the center. Blowhole rose from the ruins of his base, he was on a hovercraft surrounded by a bubble. Koru was knocked out and lying on the hovercraft.

They were covered in burns and cuts. "Y-you haven't seen the last of us." Blowhole gasped, "I am going to DESTROY ALL OF YOU!" He zoomed away without another word.

"Coward." Julien scoffed, "I would've taken him."

Josie rolled her eyes.

"Skippa?" Private called, running towards the ruins.

Private heard a groan and saw shifting metal. Skipper was attempting to edge his way out, dragging the unconscious Nat behind him. Kowalski and Rico lifted the chunks of metal from on top of Skipper; Julien and Maurice helped Skipper out; Private, Marlene and Josie carried Nat away from the fire.

The group collapsed, panting, on the grass near the forest.

Josie clutched her belly in pain. She withdrew a paw to find blood; her stomach had been hit by a piece of glass.

"Josie!" Kowalski gasped, he ran up to her and examined the glass. He began to pull it and when Josie didn't scream in pain, he pulled it out faster and it appeared to be a piece the size of Julien's ear. "How far are you?" Kowalski asked, giving her a concerned look.

"Two months." Josie said, feeling all over her stomach. She stopped in one place and held her breath. Then she exhaled, looking satisfied, "Kick. I think the baby's fine."

"All the same, we should have you checked out-" The rest of Kowalski's sentence was blocked out by a high-pitched wail; flashing lights told them that firefighters were responding to the smoke.

The animals fled through the meadow and ran through the trees to find a river. "Where are we?" Mort cried in despair.

Nat groaned and slowly opened her eyes to hear Mort crying.

"Shush silly Mort, We are obviously in Central Park." Julien snapped.

"No." Skipper said, "This is the Hudson River, we're in Riverside Park."

Private gasped, "But that's miles away from Central Park, let alone the zoo."

"I know. Rico, did you happen to put our car in your gut?" Skipper asked hopefully.

Rico shook his head, but he coughed up two skateboards, a mini rocket and a rope.

"Better than nothing." Marlene said, helping Nat to her feet.

Julien, Maurice, Mort, Nat and Josie climbed on the back skateboard as Rico tied the rope around it. He tied the other end to the front skateboard which Marlene and the penguins stood on. Rico was in the back of the front board, he lit the rocket and they shot off.

"Head for 66th street!" Skipper hollered.

In a blur of black, white, gray and spots of brown, the group shot down 66th street and zoomed to 65th. Skipper saw Central Park looming closer and warned Rico to let go of the rocket soon. They entered the park and Rico let go of the rocket. The rope became tangled in fallen branch and they were thrown off their transportation. They skidded to a stop; the familiar red brick wall was barely visible.

The group trudged home; Skipper yawned and looked at the clock tower: four o' clock in the morning. The animals entered the zoo and made it to their habitats before collapsing with exhaustion. Marlene fell asleep in her cave immediately; the penguins barely managed to jump in their bunks before falling asleep; the lemurs, except for Nat, fell asleep on the bouncy as soon as they set foot on it.

Nat, eyes sagging with exhaustion sighed and walked out of the habitat and towards Alice's office.

Hours later, Josie woke to find herself in the animal hospital. The doctor smiled and put more medicine on her and she realized that it stung. "OW! Careful, I have a baby in there!" She squealed, smacking the hand away.

The doctor bandaged her and spoke, "Do not worry, the sting doesn't last forever. What were you doing anyway? You want to be careful because you are about to have a baby in a month or so."

"Yeah, I know." Josie retorted, knowing that he could not understand her.

"I just finished bandaging two of the penguins. Did they get in a fight over you?" The doctor raised his eyebrow at the lemur.

She shook her head. "No, I like Julien…wait; you're talking to an animal." Josie stifled a giggle.

The doctor laughed too, "Of course not, you're all friends."

Alice entered the room, "Hey Doc, are you done now?"

"Yes Miss Alice. I was wondering if the girl ringtails got in a fight over the male ringtail." He replied.

Alice took Josie carefully, "I don't know, but it won't happen." She responded, "We transferred out the other female a few hours ago. I came to work and there were transfer papers for me."

Josie squeaked as she was taken away

Alice placed her on the grass and left to check on Marlene.

Josie searched the habitat; the boys were sleeping on the bouncy, but Nat was nowhere in the habitat. She gasped and jumped over the wall and climbed the fence to the penguin habitat. Entering the fishbowl entrance, she hurried down the ladder and proceeded to poke Skipper awake.

"INTRUDER!" Skipper twisted out of his bunk and struggled in his blanket before realizing who had entered. The other three had woken at Skipper's yell and watched their leader untangle from the blanket, then he stood to face Josie.

"Josephine, what the deuce are you doing?" Skipper began.

"Nat's gone, she left hours ago. There were transfer documents on Alice's desk." She told them.

Kowalski sank back into his pillow and stared at the top of his bunk; a small tear escaped his eye.

The visitors were less impressed today because the penguins, lemurs and the otter were tired and sad. News of Nat's disappearance spread through the zoo like wildfire. At closing time, the thin trickle of visitors left and Alice closed the gates happily.

Six o' clock found the penguins and Marlene in Alice's office along with the chimpanzees.

Phil, the lighter brown of the two read the screen and signed to the dark Mason who translated in a thick British accent. "Lemur transfer to…ugh, Phil are you sure?" Mason asked; Phil nodded sadly. "She's transferred herself to Hoboken." Mason concluded with a shiver; Marlene left to tell the lemurs.

Skipper shrugged, "Eh, good place for her." He slid out of the room, followed by the other three.

"Skipper!" Kowalski yelled as the leader came to a stop. "You can't honestly mean that." Kowalski said furiously.

"Yes, I can." Skipper said bluntly, watching the chimps return to their habitat. "She betrayed us. I took pity on her and rescued her from death, but I will not rescue her from Hoboken."

Private gasped, "But-"

"No." Skipper said. Rico was about to protest when Skipper held up a flipper. "My decision is final, I order you to stop trying to convince me otherwise." He disappeared into HQ.

Private looked upset, "Now what?" he asked the other two. Rico was halfway regurgitating a hammer when Kowalski shook his head. Rico swallowed the hammer and waited for Kowalski.

"Now, we do as Skipper ordered." Kowalski said, "Even if we want to, we can't. I stand by Skipper even if I don't agree with him, he's the reason I survived thirteen years ago."

Private and Rico nodded, following Kowalski onto the imitation ice floe. Kowalski looked out onto the horizon while the other two disappeared inside HQ. He looked in the direction of New Jersey; the sky was a faint darkening blue with splashes of reddish gold. He remembered Emma telling him that sometimes the sky foretold things. The colors reminded Kowalski of blood and friendship.

_So, _he thought. _Struggles are coming our way,_ _but we'll remain united_. He noticed a particularly red spot over the lemur habitat. _No. I'm sorry Emma, but that's not logical_. He thought he saw a face flash across the sky, it looked like a penguin, but it was gone quickly. "Good luck, Nat." he mumbled before wandering down the fishbowl.

_**A/N: Thank you! This story is far from over though, please read and review. Also PM me, I wish to hear your thoughts and questions. Tell me what you liked, didn't like, what was confusing, what you want me to add, or what I can improve on. Nat will return! The next chapter will be one month later, Josie's about to have the baby and I'll summarize what happened in the month since Natty left. -T.K**_


	8. The month that followed

_I am going to start letters for characters. Just ask a question and one of the characters in my story will answer._

_Starting here:_ Dear SAM, you were wondering why I did what I did, well, I didn't feel like I belonged at the zoo after everything that happened. I had to leave before the guilt ate me alive. I still feel guilt.

**Chapter 8**

_One month ago, my best friend was taken from me yet again. Nat left for Hoboken and Skipper ordered me not to go after her. He doesn't realize how hard that is for me to simply forget about her. News stories popped up about the explosions, but none of them were close to the truth. The humans thought that a boiler had been left on and exploded; Skipper is satisfied with that explanation. Two days later, Julien immediately resumed being his annoying self; he seems quite happy without Nat around to mess with him. Mort seems to have forgotten about the events that occurred not so long ago. Maurice is trying to forget it all and Josie's become bigger; I think she might deliver any day now. Nothing much has happened, just the usual training. The only different thing is that Skipper keeps getting messages from the Antarcti-er…never mind, it's classified._

"Kowalski, what are you doing?" Skipper called through the fishbowl entrance, "I said everyone up top for training."

"Coming!" Kowalski called, closing his journal and shoving it under his pillow; he grabbed his pencil and a notepad before heading out.

The day was sunny and clear, Kowalski joined the others in stretching.

"Ah, spring is beautiful." Skipper remarked.

The others nodded and waited for Skipper to begin.

"Alright men," He said, "First order of business. Kowalski, how're we looking today?"

"Mighty fine if I do say so myself." Kowalski replied smugly, causing the other two to giggle.

Skipper slapped Kowalski upside the head and glared at Rico and Private. "I meant the agenda for today."

Kowalski held back a scowl and pulled out his clipboard, "We have training, followed by breakfast; then more training; entertaining visitors which carries through lunch; a meeting in the Zoovenir Shop; then a two hour slot before dinner; then dinner and relaxing before bed. Also, someone needs to be on recon tonight."

Skipper rubbed the underside of his beak, "Well, what can we fill the two hours with?"

Kowalski drew a breath. "Babies." Skipper, Rico and Private stared at him in confusion, "Josie's about to have her baby any day now and what if we have to deliver it? We could ask Marlene and the badgers." Private whimpered.

"Private, they're nice now. Build a bridge and get over it." Skipper said sternly.

Private nodded, "But how will we check on the baby?"

Kowalski grinned and stood tall, his eyes gleaming in the rising sunlight. "I have created a device that mimics the ultrasound machine that humans use to see the baby." Skipper's eyebrows rose suspiciously, "No need to worry Skipper, I've already tested it out. My test subject, Rico, swallowed Mort and I was able to see him and pick up his heartbeat."

"Yeah!" Rico rasped excitedly, tongue hanging out of his beak.

Skipper considered this, "Maybe it cou- Ringtail, what are you doing here?"

"Hellooooooo neighbors!" Julien waved from the fence around their habitat. "I found this guy." He pointed to an irritated bald eagle. "He is looking for Skipper."

Julien grinned and bounded back to his habitat.

"Message for Skipper/" the eagle muttered, staring at Julien.

Skipper gave him a cold stare, "It's from Antarctica, correct?"

The eagle nodded, "Supreme General Kent sent me. A message for Captain Skipper Sorenson of unit 3, members include First Lieutenant Kowalski Taro, Specialist Rico Blue, Private First Class…er, Private Davis, Second Lieutenant Dennis Manfredi and Sergeant Lenny Johnson; permission to recite message, sir?"

"Denied." Skipper snapped, "I know what they want and I am not going. This unit is no longer affiliated with Manfredi and Johnson. You tell them to stop bugging me."

The eagle ruffled his feathers, "Fine, but you're going to be filed for insubordination and don't come crying to me when you do." He took off in a huff.

"I don't care!" Skipper yelled after the bird.

"Um, Skipper?" Private said, "What's going on?"

Skipper shot him a glare and Private backed away. "It is none of your concern. They probably want me to rejoin my old unit, but I won't." His expression darkened, "I'm not going, not with **him** there."

"Who?" Private chirped; he was immediately slapped by Kowalski.

"Don't ask naïve questions." Kowalski hissed, then he raised his voice, "Back to training?" he asked the leader.

"No slapping without my authorization." Skipper said, "You don't want to know who I am avoiding. Actually, it's best if we maintained our distance."

They resumed training even though Private still had questions.

The morning brought on visitors who were throwing fish for the penguins and laughing at Julien kicking Mort. Marlene dove into her pool and performed a water dance for the humans. Skipper caught himself staring at her a few times in the gap of people.

Later, they stood and waved to the leaving visitors. Rico snuck up on Private and yelled; Private jumped and fell into the water. The kids laughed and pointed. Kowalski and Skipper stood next to each other, smiling.

Kowalski leaned over, watching Private climb back and shake water from his feathers. "Skipper, are you sure you're not avoiding Jordan?" he asked.

"What?" Skipper spluttered, his face turning beet red, "N-no, I'm over her."

"Over who?" Private asked, watching Rico carefully.

"Jordan Johnson, Lenny Johnson's little sister." Kowalski said smugly.

Skipper blushed harder and the team cracked up, "Stuff it." he advised. "Funny…stop now…I mean it…ALRIGHT! Five laps around the zoo, now." He ordered.

The other three groaned and set off around the zoo.

"Kowalski…you really…shouldn't have said that…" Private panted, trailing behind the tall one.

"I know…messing with him…is fun..." Kowalski responded, trying to outrun Rico.

A blur flew past Private and Kowalski. "You started this a few minutes ago and I'm ahead of you." Skipper smirked.

Kowalski growled and ran faster. Private was way behind by the fifth lap. Rico was behind Kowalski and Skipper; Kowalski kept an eye on Skipper, trying to catch up to him.

Skipper smiled and ran off the path, Kowalski followed him.

Private finished his laps and stood by the gate with Rico; they watched the other two run.

Skipper hopped onto the brick wall and slid past the lemur habitat, and then he started to run backwards.

"Show off." Kowalski gasped, trying to breathe. "Marlene!"

"Marlene?" Skipper wondered. He turned around and crashed into Marlene; both of them tumbled to the ground.

"Skipper…" Marlene grunted, "Get off me."

Skipper realized he was on top of her, his beak an inch away from her face. "Sorry." He blushed again, jumping to his feet and helping her up. "I wasn't watching-"

"It's alright," Marlene said, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks. "Be careful next time, hi Kowalski!" She waved and set off to find Josie.

Skipper stared after her, and then spotted his teammate grinning widely. "What are you on about?"

Kowalski burst into laughter; he was bent double, clutching his sides.

Skipper rolled his eyes and proceeded to the Zoovenir shop. Kowalski followed the leader and he was still pink with laughter as they approached the gift shop Rico and Private caught up to the other two and they entered the shop.

"Hello slap-happy penguins!" Julien said, jumping on the counter. "Okay, first order of the busyness-"

"The first order is my order, which is for you to sit down." Skipper said; he glared at Julien who stuck his tongue out at the penguin. "Ringtail, I have one nerve, and you're on it."

"What is that, a threat?" Julien scoffed; Skipper nodded. "No one threatens the king which is me!"

"Julien, sit." Josie said sternly, "Sorry Skipper, please continue."

"Alright, turning the floor over to Kowalski now, and no we're not actually moving the floor." He shot another glare at Julien who put his raised hand down.

Kowalski stepped forward and withdrew his clipboard, "First item on the agenda, no more throwing poo at parents or they will refuse to bring their children, thus eliminating visitors." He looked at the chimps seriously, "Second, please refrain from pick pocketing, looking at you two right now." He eyed Bada and Bing, the gorillas, "Third point, Burt, you have enough peanuts, so stop sneaking into the food storage room and taking them." The elephant smiled guiltily; Kowalski smiled, "Last thing, I want to congratulate Josie for having less than one week until the baby comes. Yeah, there's going to be a few changes in the zoo, we're going to need to baby proof this place like there's no tomorrow."

Everybody cheered; Kowalski didn't know if it was because they were excited that the baby was coming, or they were relieved that he finally stopped talking. The animals left one by one and congratulated Josie as they went by. Soon, the only ones left were the penguins, lemurs and Marlene. Skipper smiled at Marlene who smiled back.

"Feet!" Mort squealed, running towards Julien. Julien kicked him through the open doors. "Whee! I'm flying!"

Maurice sighed, "I'll go find him. Anyone want to help?"

"Sure." Private said cheerfully, "Can I, Skippa?"

Skipper nodded and watched the two leave, then turned to look at Julien and Josie who were talking quietly.

"I think we should give them some space." Marlene whispered. Skipper got the idea and gestured for the other two to follow him out.

"Are we alone?" Josie giggled, kissing Julien.

Julien nodded and returned the kiss.

"Julien, will you help me raise the baby?" Josie asked, looking up into his yellow-orange eyes.

"Yes." Julien said, "If it's a boy, can we call him JJ?"

Josie laughed, "Of course, sweetie."

"So, we are officially a couple?"

"Yes, baby, we are."

"Awesome! My Queen." He bowed to her and she knocked his crown off playfully.

"My King." Josie said, she hugged him, "I love you so much."

Julien's mouth turned dry, he didn't know what to say. "I-I am…I am lo-…"

Josie nodded encouragingly. Julien took a deep breath. "Allovyatoo"

Josie gave a puzzled and amused look.

Julien shook his head and kissed her. "I love you too."

The two of them left the shop and returned to the lemur habitat.

"We're not the only ones sharing a moment." Josie giggled again, she pointed to Marlene and Skipper who were standing close together and talking quietly.

Julien grinned, "So, Mr. Bossy penguin has found a girlfriend."

Josie gave him a 'don't tease him' look and plopped herself on the bouncy. Julien joined her and the two resumed kissing.

Meanwhile, Skipper had turned to Rico and Kowalski outside the shop, "Go on to HQ." he muttered to them. Kowalski smiled and pushed Rico back to their home.

Skipper and Marlene slowly walked across the stone paved ground.

"I saw you yelling at a bird earlier, what happened?" Marlene asked.

"I'd rather leave the past, like Barry, untouched." He smiled somewhat sadly.

"And there's nothing and no one you miss from the past. What about your mother? Do you ever worry about her?" Marlene moved closer to Skipper. "I miss my parents like crazy."

Skipper stopped and looked up into the sky; he could see a few stars peeking out of the clouds. "I do miss my mother. I don't worry though, she can take care of herself and she's protected by a good friend of mine. Johnny Bone, my mentor and role-model, agreed to watch over my mother. I trust him and he's one of the best agents out there."

Marlene smiled, putting an arm around him. She noticed his sad expression remained. "You're thinking of someone else. Is it your father and brothers? I feel sad for them."

"Lesson one, Doll face," Skipper said, adopting the voice of a wise old man, *"Do not pity the dead, Marlene. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love."*

"Like Koru and Blowhole." Marlene sighed; she waved to Private who disappeared into HQ. "Do you think Simon died? I hate him, but he doesn't deserve to die, not like that."

"You think?" Skipper wondered. "He's slippery; I wouldn't be surprised if he survived."

"Who is it? The one you're thinking about."

"I'd rather not-"

"Please, just tell me."

"Marle-"

"Please…is it another penguin? Is it…a girl?"

"Yes, but not what you think."

"Who is she?"

"Do you-"

"Yes, I really want to know."

Skipper considered this; he looked into Marlene's face and opened his beak.

Before either of them could say anything, there was a loud squawk from the HQ. "SKIPPER!" It was Kowalski. "You have an urgent call on the television; they hacked into the system and won't go until they talk to you."

Marlene sighed. "Great timing, Kowalski." She muttered under her breath.

Skipper put both flippers on her shoulders, "Marlene, I'll tell you when I've taken care of this, I promise." He pecked her on the cheek and disappeared into the underground base.

Skipper glared angrily at the face on the screen. A young penguin, around Private's age, was on the screen, his brown eyes focused on Skipper.

"Get out." He ordered the other three penguins.

Skipper was furious, "My team, my orders. You don't tell them what to do." He growled.

"Fine, my name is Victor and I need to talk with you." the penguin on the screen said, annoyed.

"No, no, no, no, a thousand times no."

"Skipper, you don't even know wha-"

"Save the suck ups for your leader."

"We've been contac-"

I already gave you an answer, get off my television."

The brown eyed penguin groaned in frustration, "Would you liste-"

"No!" Skipper snapped.

"I'm try-"

"I DON'T CARE!"

"I THINK YOU WOULD, CONSIDER-"

"NO! GET OUT! I TOLD YOU I WOULDN'T, LEAVE ME ALONE! I SHOULD REPORT YOU TO GENERAL KENT FOR HARASSMENT OF A SENIOR OFFICER-"

Skipper drew breath and Victor seized the moment,

"IT'S ABOUT YOUR SISTER!"

Silence, no one moved or spoke. Victor took steadying breaths, waiting for Skipper's reaction. Skipper stared at the screen, his face paled considerably.

Finally, Kowalski broke the silence. "Go now, hurry." He whispered, pushing the other two up the ladder. Rico and Private closed the hatch behind them.

Kowalski walked over and stood next to Skipper. "Victor, was this the reason for all the messages?"

"Yes," Victor hissed, "And the only one we could contact refused our calls."

"What happened?" Skipper croaked.

"Well, you ignor-"

"No bird-brain, Rocky! What's happened to my sister?" Skipper growled.

"She was sent on a solo mission to Australia, but the plane flew off course. It crashed off the southern coast of Africa. After a thorough search, we found the wreckage about two miles out to sea and the dead pilot five more miles out. We couldn't find her, she's lost at sea."

"What about Madagascar?" Kowalski asked.

"Mada-what?" Victor asked; he pulled out an old looking map. "There's no Madagascar here, see." He put the map of Africa up to the camera.

"There on the right coast." Kowalski said.

Victor checked the map again, "I thought that was a coffee stain." He mumbled.

"It's not bloody coffee stain!" Skipper shouted, "Its Madagascar, that's where Ringtail, Sad-Eyes and Portly Lemur come from!"

"Gee, give a guy a break." Victor said, rolling his eyes.

"We'll take care of this, you can leave now." Kowalski said, "I am also your superior officer and therefore order you to leave." He added in response to Victor's defiant expression.

Victor sighed and reached for a remote. The television turned blank. Rico peeked into the entrance and made eye contact with Kowalski.

"Both of you can come in." Kowalski said, glancing at Skipper.

"You have a sister?" Private asked, earning surprised looks from Kowalski and Skipper, "It's hard not to hear shouting."

"Yeah, egaba wadoawa" Rico babbled.

"Yes, you didn't know for her safety." Skipper sighed, walking over to the table and placing his head between his flippers. "Rocky, my only sister…Dad told us to look after each other, and if there's the slightest chance that she's alive and on that lemur-infested island…"

"We're going to find her." Kowalski said confidently.

Skipper smiled at his team, and then he became serious. "I'm going to need everything for this mission. Rico, weapons check." Rico rumbled his stomach. "Great. Kowalski, supplies from your lab." Kowalski nodded, "And Private, bring Julien and Mort." Private gave a quizzical look, "Trust me." Skipper smiled.

Private left and returned two minutes later with King Julien and Mort.

"Ringtail, are you up for an adventure?" Skipper grinned.

"Oh yes! Eh, one question, Why no Maurice and Josie?" Julien asked.

"This mission would most likely put her and the baby in danger and Maurice needs to stay here to help her. Mort's coming because he'd follow us anyway." Kowalski said.

"Okay then, where are we going?"

"Madagascar." Skipper replied.

Julien's face split into a wide grin, "How are we to be getting there?" he said excitedly.

"Flying," Skipper said, "Kowalski, would you like to show them?"

Kowalski opened an entrance that went deeper underground.

There, in the large room, was the wreck of their submarine, _King Julien II_. There were also six airplanes; one was bigger than the others. Four of the small ones were the single fighter planes that they always flew. The second to largest was covered up next to them. Kowalski showed them the bigger one, which they would be flying.

It looked like it could fit three of Roy if the door wasn't penguin sized. The black lettering on the side said United Penguin. Julien looked back at the smaller one which was hidden by a dark green tarp. He edged towards it, but was stopped by Skipper.

"Another time, perhaps." Skipper said.

"Alright, ready?" Kowalski asked, "We've got snacks and extra food for the flight. Everyone went to the bathroom?"

The others nodded.

"Then let's get the show on the road…or in this case, in the air." He chuckled.

The penguins, Mort, and Julien stepped on the plane; Rico closed the door behind them.

The interior was beautiful; shining metal outside and velvet seats on the floor where the passengers could see the front where Skipper and Kowalski would be. There were three small doors in the back; one led to the food storage room, one led to the engine room, and the last was a small room concealing the emergency escape hatch.

Skipper sat himself in the pilot's seat, told everyone to buckle up, and started the plane. A tunnel to the outside opened.

Kowalski nodded and they slowly rumbled out, gathering speed as they approached the mouth of the tunnel.

**A/N:** _*quote from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling* Gee, that was long. The next chapter will be the flight and where they land. Please read and review! -T.K_

**Skipper: You're too soft. Review, that's an order! Don't make me take Rico off his leash!**

_T.K: I did not say-_

**Skipper: Shh! Who's flying this plane, you or me?**

_T.K: …brilliant, let the fingerless one steer._

**Skipper: Hey, Kowalski built this thing, I just authorized it!**


	9. Take to the skies

Chapter 9

Marlene heard the rumble and saw a giant metal object gathering height and speed. She smiled, "Good luck Skipper."

And he would need it.

They slowly rumbled up into the dark sky.

Mort got out of his seat and started annoying the others. At first, he was harmlessly asking questions, but then he jumped on Julien.

"GET OFF THE ROYAL FEET!" Julien screamed, kicking the small lemur into the front window.

"Hey!" Skipper said; he swerved to avoid a tree. "Ringtail, do not interfere with my driving! Sad-Eyes leave him alone!"

"Can I drive?" Mort asked sweetly.

"No." Skipper said in a firm tone.

"Please?"

"Tiny lemur, ask me when you get your pilot license and you can actually see over the controls."

"Can I push a button?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Can I push a button?"

"Didn't you just ask me that?"

Mort sighed; he turned around and then ran up to the control board. Skipper shouted as the lemur punched random buttons. "WHEEE! MORT IS A FIRE ENGINE!"

"MORT!" Skipper yanked him off and dropped him.

"Big statue lady!" Julien screamed; Skipper registered the noise of the others screaming…the plane was barreling out of control.

Kowalski pushed buttons, but they didn't work.

"Big green coming up fast, do something!" Skipper yelled, trying to pull the plane up. "Kowalski, I don't want a scratch on her!"

Kowalski jumped out of the seat and ran to the engine room. The sudden change had caused an increase in pressure…it was about to blow. The scientist fiddled with the knobs and buttons.

"Skipper, barrel roll!"

On the shout, Skipper yanked the throttle and the plane slowly tipped to its side. They were close to the Statue…tipped some more. "Rico, counterweight!"

Rico hacked up an anchor…it thudded to the side…the plane jerked and trembled…dangerously close, and…

They were clear. Rico swallowed the anchor and the plane righted itself. Skipper panted in relief. Kowalski came out of the engine room and collapsed on his chair. Rico handed a paper bag to Private who immediately threw up in it; Julien was still wide eyed, but silent.

"Yay, do it again!" Mort cheered.

Skipper jumped up and stomped over to Mort; Kowalski jumped in the pilot's seat.

Mort's smile slid off his face, Skipper leaned in close, fury etched in his face. "Sit down." He hissed. "Do not get up for the rest of the flight."

The tiny lemur jumped and cowered in his seat.

A few hours later, they were more than halfway there. True, Africa was not in view, but everything mellowed down as Kowalski took them farther above the sea.

Skipper stretched his body and walked around the plane. He looked over at Julien who was whispering to himself. "No…Julisie? Egh…Josulien…no…King and Queen Juliosien...ugh, definitely not…"

"What are you doing?" Skipper asked, mildly curious.

Julien looked up, "Me? Trying to come up with a cutie couple name for me and Josie, you know, like Bradgelina or Jelena."

"How about Josien?" Private chirped, "Does that sound like a good choice?"

"Hmm…Josien…yes, Yes! That sounds wonderful." Julien said, clapping rapidly.

"Nicknames are cool." Private grinned.

"Yeah. There could be Pricy." Julien chuckled.

Private giggled, "Me and Stacy? Ha ha, that's funny. Oh, what about Skilene?"

"Marski." Julien said excitedly

"What?" Kowalski said from the front, "Me and Marlene?"

Private thought for a minute, "Julene."

Julien laughed harder, "And Kico."

Rico's beak hung open, "Say wha'?" he rasped.

Kowalski stiffened, "Stop, now." He said.

Skipper shook his head, "Julien-"

"No, wait, I'm getting good at this." Julien said, his eyes watering from laughter, "Kovate!"

Private's grin vanished, "Not nice."

"Alright, stop!"

"Ski-"

"JULIEN!" Everyone except Mort yelled.

"Alright, alright, I'm shutting up now." Julien said, sinking back into his chair with a pout. "You penguins never let me have fun…gee…" he looked around, then smiled to himself, "Skivate."

THUMP!

Skipper tackled Julien to the ground, "Private is like a son to me, nothing else! I do NOT want you to say that again! I am well aware of name combinations and I assure you that in this universe, none of us like each other like that! I don't know what other parallel universes there are with those parings, but THIS IS NOT IT!"

Julien pushed Skipper off him, "I was kidding!" Julien sat back in his seat, "What is this, beat on lemurs' day?"

Skipper stalked over to the co-pilot's seat and began conversation with Kowalski about their location. Kowalski spotted Africa in the sky which was becoming lighter, "Almost there." He announced.

Skipper was in deep thought when he felt a tap; he spun around to find King Julien.

"Skipper, I would like to extend the hand of apology." Julien said sadly, "I know you are stressed with finding this Rocky person and I-"

"Penguin, Rocky's a penguin. And she's my only sister." He said.

"Eh, I didn't know you had a sister." Julien shrugged.

"Yeah Skippa, how come none of us knew before?" Private asked.

Skipper let out a heavy sigh, "For her safety, if Blowhole found out, he could use her to destroy me."

"Uh, Skipper," Kowalski said, "I don't mean to be a bother, but we're losing altitude."

The southern part of Africa vanished behind them and the sea loomed closer. The penguins rushed about, trying to pull up. Madagascar came into view. The plane wasn't low enough to land there…they were going to crash into the sea. Skipper's expression brightened, he rushed into the engine room… then there was a cracking noise, a splutter, and everything was silent…Skipper had shut the engine off.

Private and the lemurs screamed in fright.

Kowalski understood the plan; he ran into the emergency hatch room and grabbed four penguin sized parachutes. "Mort, grab onto Private; Julien, you'll go with Rico!"

The hatch opened and Private grabbed Mort before putting the parachute pack on.

Rico seized a parachute and buckled himself, then grabbed Julien under the armpits and jumped. Private followed, holding onto Mort. Kowalski saluted Skipper and jumped with his pack on.

Kowalski saw the other two chutes open and pulled his cord; a black and white parachute burst out and slowed his speed. He looked up and saw a pair of orange feet descending, it was Skipper.

Rico released the parachute and dove into the trees below; he and Julien landed on a large branch. Kowalski landed on another tree close by, followed by Skipper.

They looked up and spotted the plane diving down…SPLASH! CRACKLE!

"Private? Private, fall in, soldier!" Skipper ordered…no response.

"By my calculations, he should have been the second to land." Kowalski said, "We're somewhere on the east side of the island."

Julien gasped, "E-east? No…no, this cannot be."

The penguins stared at him.

"What danger are he and Mort in?" Skipper asked.

"The east side lemurs…they are not our friends." Julien said, "They…they hate us…they are ruthless…they hate us for…it was because...because I…I became king."

SNAP! A branch broke.

"And dey are here." His eyes grew wide.

_**A/N:**__ WHOA! How's that for a shocker? Next chapter, we meet the east side lemurs. Rocky will also be joining as well as the partying lemurs. Please read and review! -T.K_

_**Also, I'm sorry if you don't like me teasing the pairings, but I had to pass time. I understand that there are pairings I don't support such as Kico and Marski, and I respect your choices in pairings and truly apologize if my poking fun at them doesn't settle well with you.**_

_**If you would like me to edit that part or any other part that makes you feel uncomfortable or that you think would make others uncomfortable, please PM me and kindly inform me of the issue and I will address it as soon as possible.**_


	10. Madagascar again

**Chapter 10**

Skipper leaned in closer to the others, "Stay quiet, nobody-"

"HELP! SKIPPA, WE'RE CAPTURED!" Private's scream echoed through the forest.

"Private!" Rico gasped loudly, he regurgitated a crowbar and threatened the hidden animals.

Kowalski hissed at him to be quiet, but it was too late. Sharpened wooden spears shot at them. A pair of hands grabbed Kowalski and he disappeared. A vine shot out and tied Rico's beak and he was dragged away by different pair of hands.

"Stop!" Julien said, trying to preserve dignity. An arrow shot through his crown; he shrieked and hid behind Skipper.

"Alright spear-holding ringtails, we don't want any trouble." Skipper tried to reason, he was answered by a sharp rock narrowly missing his head. "Forget reason, I'm about to show you why they call me the king of brute force."

There was a whisper among the trees. Julien squealed as a pair of strong hands grabbed him. Skipper stood in fighting stance.

"No need." A tough looking gray lemur said, "We'll take you to our leader, then you will face charges. Stand down, tough guy." He added to the poised Skipper.

Rather reluctantly, Skipper followed the lemur while managing to keep an eye on Julien. "Charges? What have we done wrong?" Skipper demanded.

"What do you think penguin?" Julien said somberly, "Ow!" He was kicked by his captor.

"Silence, prisoner." The captor said forcefully.

Skipper winced at the sound of Julien's whimper. _I've got to get us out of here._

They were brought to the beach, the wreckage of the plane was gone, but a faint layer of smoke and the smell of burnt metal lingered. Kowalski, Private, Rico, and Mort were being held by more tough looking lemurs.

A brown female lemur was sitting on a large pile of rocks as if it were a throne.

Skipper looked around, then faced her, "There are seven of you." he stated.

She smiled and stood up, "Release those four." She commanded.

Kowalski, Rico and Private zipped to Skipper as soon as they were released. Mort ran to the feet. "FEEET!"

"OFF THE ROYAL-OW!" the lemur behind Julien twisted his arms further. "Please to be letting go." He groaned

"I don't think so." The chief lemur said, snarling at Julien. King Julien cowered and stared at the ground sadly.

"You're the last female left." Kowalski stated, looking around "What happened to this tribe?"

"I am Sasha, Queen of the lemurs." She said, "And this fool," she pointed at Julien, "has all my ex-followers."

Julien's head shot up, "Yeah, dey abandoned you because you're no fun and a bunch of cold-blooded murderers!" he shouted; he was kicked again.

The penguins looked alarmed. "What's going on?" Private squeaked, trembling.

"You had no right to be king!" Sasha shouted, ignoring the penguin.

"You tried to have me killed! And you killed a child's parents, forcing him to grow up with a mental foot obsession!" Julien yelled before being kicked yet again. "Would you tell him to STOP KICKING ME?" the lemur king howled.

"Foot obsession?" Kowalski wondered, "Could that possibly be-"

The penguins looked at Mort who was digging into his belly button with a finger. "Sometimes my tummy has presents!" he squealed happily.

Skipper shook his head, "What's going on? Why did you kill someone for a crown?"

"She's crazy!" Julien said.

"You were too stubborn to listen to reason!" Sasha hissed to Julien.

"Reason? I was twelve!" Julien argued back

"Exactly, which made you unfit for the position. Also, you have lost members of your tribe to the fossa because you had dance parties instead of security training."

"I made it fun!"

Skipper stepped forward, "Okay, that's enough. We simply came to look for someone. We'll gladly take Ringtail and tiny lemur out of your fur and look for my sister."

"I might be persuaded to let you go, but HE" she glared at Julien, "Is going to be punished for entering our side of the island."

Julien was pushed to the sand at her feet. He was on all fours, his face covered with sand, "I suppose that's fair and-" he bolted into the trees, screaming.

Two of the lemurs chased after him.

Skipper's beak was opened in shock, "Uhh, Rico!"

"Bleh!" _Poof!_ The penguins and Mort were gone in a flash.

"AFTER THEM!" Sasha bellowed.

The east side lemurs ran in the direction that Julien ran in.

Mort and Kowalski ran ahead, Julien was nowhere in sight. A shout called them from behind. It was Rico and Skipper.

"Where's Private?" Skipper asked, "Aw crud. Alright, let's move south-"

"No!" Mort squealed, "South is fossa…evil fossa…"

"Okay, what's north?" Kowalski asked.

Mort shrugged.

"Alright, Rico, you and I will find Private and Julien; Mort and Kowalski, head up north." Skipper ordered.

Rico gave Kowalski a walkie-talkie and slid off with Skipper.

Private had become separated from the group; a pair of hands grabbed him and dragged him into the bushes, clamping his mouth shut. Private tried to break free.

The hands released him. "Say nothing." The harsh whisper was barely recognizable. It was Julien. Private stopped struggling and looked at Julien.

"I'll explain." The lemur king said distractedly, "Promise." He added in response to Private's skeptic look.

Julien and Private crouched further into the bushes as they heard cracking from above. The lemurs were close by.

"Where are they?" one of the lemurs asked gruffly.

"How am I supposed to know?" the other snapped back.

"Queen's gonna kill us if we don' come back with 'em." The first said nervously.

"We should have joined the west side lemurs when we had the chance." The second said gloomily, his companion nodded in agreement.

"Hey, Kevin, you reckon they went south?" the first lemur asked.

"No, Will. They wouldn't dare go into fossa territory." Kevin answered.

Private leaned into a rose bush and yelped as he was stung with a thorn; Julien grabbed Private's beak. "Shh!"

"We already heard you." Will said.

Private scrambled out of the bushes; Julien plopped out of the bushes, and then got up, trying to keep his dignity.

"Don't worry, we'll help you." Kevin said.

Private sighed, "All we are doing is trying to find Skipper's sister."

Kevin nodded and led them to a small pathway that looked disturbed. "Go north along here; I saw something being dragged through here a while ago."

"Can't let you do that." A deep voice said. A strong looking lemur jumped out the tree behind them. "He's coming with us, and you two are arrested for treason."

"Kato, you wouldn't." Kevin said weakly, "Your own brother…"

"Traitors are no brothers of mine." Kato said stonily.

"HYAH!" a webbed foot hit Kato and he was down before he could attack. Skipper snarled at the barely conscious lemur. "And for your information, brothers stick together." He growled at the lemur.

Kowalski appeared behind the other two, scaring them behind a tree. "Skipper, they're coming, let's go!" he said.

Private and Julien muttered a thanks to the two lemurs as they followed Skipper and Kowalski.

Mid-day; the four of them finally found Mort and Rico.

They spent the day traveling up north; Skipper's instincts grew more persistent.

Finally, it was evening and they were exhausted. Private found a small clearing where they could rest for the night. Mort fell asleep quickly.

Kowalski was writing a mission log when he remembered something. "Julien?"

"Mm?" Julien said, staring up into the starry sky.

"What happened to Mort?" Kowalski asked.

Julien looked around, "Nothing, he's right he- oh, you meant…" his voice faltered, but Kowalski and Rico nodded encouragingly. Skipper moved closer to listen; and Private sat up, paying attention.

Julien was surprised at the rapt attention from the penguins. "Alright. I suppose I should begin with after my coronation. It's when I was named King." He added in response to Private's puzzled look.

_**TEN YEARS AGO…**_

_A small gray lemur was playing with his crown._

"_Juju, don't touch it." an older female lemur said, smiling at the younger one._

"_Mama, I don't want to be an adult, it's boring!" the twelve year old Julien complained._

_His mother hugged him, "You've wanted to be king ever since you were born." She told him._

"_Yeah, but mama, I wanted daddy to see me be king!" Julien huffed._

"_Ms. Queen?" a small voice came from behind a tree; a fourteen year old portly lemur came out. "Is this a bad time?"_

"_No, Maurice." She said, "What's wrong."_

"_Mom didn't come back yet." The gray lemur said, his orange eyes sweeping the ground._

"_What?" Claire said, "They were supposed to be back an hour ago." She exited the grass hut._

"_Mama, what's going on?" Julien asked._

"_I'll be back darling, stay strong." She kissed him and vanished into the trees._

"_MAMA!" Julien screamed. "Maurice, we have to do something!"_

_Maurice paled, "I'm an advisor in training, what can I do?"_

"_Gather the best soldiers we have!"_

_Maurice scratched his head, "Er…we don't really have soldiers."_

"_You, boy king!" a sixteen year old female lemur huffed. "The fossas are attacking, do something!"_

"_AHH! FOSSA!" he scrambled up a tree and cowered._

"_That was a test." She sneered, "You are not king material, surrender your position to me immediately."_

"_Sasha! That was a mean trick." Maurice said angrily._

"_You know what's also mean, telling the new family to take a trip down south." Sasha chuckled._

"_WHAT?" Maurice screamed, "Mortimer is only ONE!"_

_Sasha grinned evilly, "Surrender the throne or else."_

"_Or else what?" Julien demanded, standing on a branch._

_She shrugged casually, "Nothing…Juju."_

"_What have you done?" Julien asked in horror._

_Sasha grinned again._

"_AAAAHHHH!"_

_Maurice gasped, "Over there!" he ran in the direction of the scream._

_Julien glared at Sasha before racing after Maurice._

_A female lemur clutched her baby, trying to get out of the ring of fossa. The fossa pounced._

_Maurice screamed, throwing rocks at the fossa._

_A small furry thing ran out of the crowd, it was the baby._

"_Mort." Julien whispered. He grabbed a vine and swung down, grabbing Mort as he went by. "No worries you are-OOF!" he smacked into a tree, almost losing the baby. Mort was holding Julien's feet, whimpering._

_The fossa growled, "She said you'd be here." One of them growled, "Your mothers are quite tasty."_

_Julien snapped, he grabbed a stick and began hitting them with it. The fossa gasped and ran away._

"_YES! They have run away from me with cowardice!" The young king cheered._

"_I don't think so." Maurice squeaked, pointing at the trees._

_Sasha jumped down, "Now will you reconsider my offer?"_

_Maurice's eyes narrowed, "You cold blooded-"_

_Julien screamed as two lemurs dragged the bodies of his and Maurice's mothers into view. Another lemur brought Mort's father._

_Rocks clicked together, and then there was fire._

"_NO!" Julien screamed. He ducked as a rock flew at his head._

_Maurice dragged Julien away; Mort was still clutching one of Julien's feet._

_They didn't stop until they reached the beach. The other lemurs crowded around them, gasping._

_Julien shook and sobbed, "I promise to be a good king." He gasped and fainted._

_When he woke up next, Maurice was holding a coconut shell for him. "Peach juice."_

"_Thanks, Maurice." Julien looked down to find Mort. "Mortimer, off my feet."_

_The baby cooed and cuddled the feet._

"_Why?" he demanded of the baby._

"_My guess is that you knocked his conscience out of him when you smacked into the tree." Maurice suggested, "You have to make a royal speech today. These lemurs are pretty young."_

_Julien nodded, he got up and walked to the throne that used to belong to his father. Maurice was holding Mort._

"_We lost some pretty good lemurs last night." Julien said somberly, "But we're going to keep pushing ahead. I decree that we have dance marathons instead of boring old meetings!"_

_The lemurs cheered._

"_What? This fool as king?" Sasha screeched, "I should be in charge." A few of the older lemurs nodded in agreement. "This child cannot possibly be king."_

"_Yeah, this child is banishing you." Julien said._

"_WHAT?"_

"_You led my mother into a trap and killed Maurice's mother along with baby Mort's parents!"_

_Sasha growled, "Those of you who do not want this snot-nosed brat as king, follow me." She stalked off, followed by about twenty lemurs._

"_Good riddance!" Maurice yelled; his statement was followed with cheers. Then they quieted down. "Now what?"_

"_The king says PARTY!" Julien said, trying to mask his pain._

_**END OF FLASHBACK**_

The cheers seemed to echo through the years as Julien finished his story with tears in his eyes.

"You were given too much at a young age." Skipper whispered.

Julien nodded. Private finally succumbed to tiredness and fell asleep; Rico fell asleep shortly.

Kowalski and Julien fell asleep around the same time.

Skipper stayed awake, his brain riddled with thoughts. He thought he could hear children: one was high on a glacier and the other was in the water below.

"_The water's cold!"_

"_Come on Skippy, don't be a baby!"_

"_I am a baby!"_

"_Soldiers aren't afraid. You do want to be a soldier, don't you?"_

"_Yeah, just like Dad!"_

"_Then let's go!"_

Then the dream changed and the children were staring up at their ice house.

"_Brilliant, Skippy!"_

"_Rocks? What if something happens?"_

"_Build a new house."_

"_No. I mean, what if we get separated?"_

"_Then I'd find you."_

"_Promise?"_

"_I promise, Skipper. And would you?"_

"_Of course, Rocky, I'd go to the ends of the earth for you."_

"I promise I'll find you." Skipper whispered.

_**A/N:**__ And the search continues in the next exciting episode of CAMARADERIE._


	11. Siblings Reunited

_Sorry it took me so long, but I had problems with this chapter._

**Chapter 11**

The sun peeked innocently through the trees and the birds chirped to each other. Private yawned and stretched. He kept his eyes shut, imagining that he was back at the zoo and Alice was about to throw fish at them and Skipper was going to order them up top for training.

Skipper's voice did come, but it wasn't for breakfast, "Good, were all awake, the sooner we get going, the sooner we can find Rocky and get out of here."

Private opened his eyes and sighed. "Aye-aye, Skippa."

Rico jumped out of the tree to their left and shook his head; Kowalski jumped down from the right tree and shook his head too.

"We're not being followed." Kowalski said.

Julien felt relieved, "Maybe they are too chicken to be exploring new places." He laughed.

Mort started sniffing, "FOOOD!"

"No Mort, not the fe- wait, did you say food?" Julien asked.

Mort jumped to his feet, "Mort smells pie!" he squealed, running through the trees.

Skipper groaned, "After him!"

Julien and the penguins raced after Mort.

Mort followed the scent, and then he stopped. There was a shack that looked about the size of a baby elephant in the clearing, and no one in sight. There was a kettle on a fire outside, and Mort smelled the fruit being cooked in it. He was about to proceed when a flipper grabbed him.

Kowalski held Mort still and looked at him sternly, "Stay with the group." He whispered to the lemur. Mort nodded.

"Alright men, this is pretty suspicious." Skipper said, "Private, Sad-eyes, guard the perimeter; Rico, Kowalski, and Ringtail, you're with me."

Private and Mort nodded, staying outside.

Kowalski poked, licked and smelled the shelter, "Made of airplane parts, Palm leaves and deadwood with seaweed to tie everything together."

Julien looked amazed and disgusted.

"All part of analysis." Kowalski added, noticing the lemur's look.

Rico poked his head inside, "Huh?"

"What is it, Rico?" Skipper asked, following his teammate inside. Kowalski and Julien followed closely.

The shack was empty; there were no signs of life apart from the scuttle of bugs. There was a pile of leaves that looked like a bed.

"I don't think anyone's been here in ages." Skipper said, slightly disappointed.

"Roxanne's been here." Kowalski said, "I can feel it. And the etching on the side says 'Team Skippy'."

Julien snickered, then stopped at Skipper's glare, "Who is this Roxanne?" he asked, "I thought we were looking for Rocky."

"Rocky is her nickname, it's a shortened version of Roxanne." Kowalski explained. "Just like Mort is a shortened version of Mortimer."

"Skippa!" Private called.

The group leapt out of the hut and joined Private who was facing a surprised old female lemur.

"State your name and business." Skipper growled, "And don't try anything funny or we'll knock you down faster than you can say penguin."

"Jump to conclusions pretty quick, don't you?" the lemur asked, smiling at Skipper. "No worries, I'm just an old lady."

Skipper raised an eyebrow, "I knew an old lady-"

"Who swallowed a fly!" Mort squeaked.

"Ye-Wha-? No!" Skipper snapped, "A lady who was not afraid to take on fully grown lions."

The lemur smiled, "Would you spare this old spirit? I am simply looking for a place to live since I am no longer welcome at my home."

"Why not?" Private chirped.

"Well, aren't you an adorable gumdrop!" She cooed, "I saw danger in living with the east side lemurs and fled."

"You're related to Sasha, am I correct?" Kowalski piped up.

The lemur looked at Kowalski with a surprised expression, "Why, yes, I am. I happen to be her grandmother, Shari."

Rico's mouth dropped open, and he began babbling quickly.

Kowalski motioned for him to slow down, but Rico didn't.

"Uh-huh." Skipper said once Rico was done, "Rico said that seems harsh and even he wouldn't banish his grandmother."

"Oh no, dear, I wasn't banished." Shari said, "I was getting too old for them."

It was Julien's turn to gape at her, "No, she didn't!"

"I'm afraid so." Shari said. "I fled for my life."

"That treacherous…meanie!" Julien growled, earning a puzzled look from the penguins, "What? Mort and Private are here."

Skipper nodded, "Back to business, was this place abandoned when you got here?"

"Yes, But it looked like it had only been a few days." Shari answered, "I slept in the trees, but no one came back to the hut. I hadn't touched it. Are you looking for someone? I hear music in the distance at night, it makes me feel happy."

"My followers!" Julien said happily, "Maybe Rocky is with them!"

"Alright, and we can bring Shari with us too." Kowalski said, "If that's okay with you of course." He addressed Skipper.

Skipper nodded. Rico put out the fire and decided to swallow the kettle in case anyone needed it.

The group headed west and soon heard the distant sounds of excited lemurs.

Mort's eyes brightened as he saw a small lemur dancing. "TREVOR!" he squealed, running through the bushes.

"My goodness, does he do this often?" Shari asked.

Private nodded, "Mostly for Julien's feet."

"Julien? As in the son of the late King Julien XII and his wife Queen Claire, Julien?" Shari gasped, looking at Julien.

"That's me." Julien replied sheepishly.

"You are very brave to take on the responsibilities of King." Shari said warmly, "I had to attempt to calm my granddaughter, otherwise I would have stayed."

Shari gave Julien a hug before they entered the bushes into the Western lemur territory.

"Mort! Where did you come from?" A small lemur squealed, "I missed you, buddy!"

"Mort missed you too, Trevor!" Mort said happily.

"Mort?" One of the lemurs said, "Then that means…"

The lemurs watched the bushes in excited anticipation. The penguins emerged with Shari; some of the lemurs cheered as Private waved to them. Then finally, Julien popped out with the widest grin.

Anyone inside the forest could have thought there was an explosion as the force of cheers and happy squeals burst into the air. The lemurs danced and pulled Julien to the center of their group. Shari walked over to a group of lemurs who were chattering excitedly; Mort was off dancing with his friends; but the penguins stayed in the background, watching Stevie crawling all over Julien.

Finally, Skipper edged over to Julien and whispered something in his ear. Julien nodded and held his hands up for silence.

"I have come with the penguins in search of someone, please listen to Skipper's description." Julien commanded; the lemurs nodded patiently to show they were listening.

"Thanks Julien," Skipper said, "She is a penguin who looks like me, but her eyes are lighter blue and she's a little taller than me. She also has long feathers that look like bangs on her head."

The lemurs whispered among themselves until one of them raised a hand.

"Yes, Gerald?" King Julien said.

"We helped her when the fossa attacked her." Gerald said, "She normally hangs out at the beach in the afternoon and goes down south in the evenings to challenge the fossa."

Skipper laughed, "Definitely sounds like something she would do."

"She went out early today, but she didn't say anything." Trevor said. "We saw a plane yesterday."

Skipper nodded, "My gut tells me that you lemurs should stay and my men and I are going to the beach."

The lemurs shrugged and talked again, then Julien began dancing and inviting the others to join him.

"I like to move it- move it!" He began as the penguins slid away. "We like to move it-"

The song faded as the four disappeared.

Kowalski stopped, "Just behind these trees is the beach, and quite possibly, your sister." He stated, "Would you like us to accompany you?"

Skipper pondered, "No." he said, "This is a moment that-"

"Go." Private interrupted with a smile, "We understand."

Rico nodded absentmindedly, staring up into the sky in deep thought.

Skipper drew a breath and stepped onto the warm, sandy beach. He saw the remnants of a small hut that Marty the zebra had built. He admired the handiwork as he stared at it for a while, wondering if his sister wa-

"KYAH!" A voice yelled from behind.

Skipper swerved and shot out his flipper, a black and white blur smacking down into the sand. Skipper forgot about the 'grave' that Melman the giraffe had made.

The blur appeared to be a female penguin, she shook off the shock of being caught and shot over to Skipper.

"WHAT in the steamed halibut just happened?" She demanded, poking Skipper's chest with a flipper.

Skipper was at a loss for words, here was, undeniable proof that his sister was alive…and…he couldn't do much more than stutter.

"Hang on…" She said, squinting hard at the shorter penguin's face.

She gasped. Realization had hit her; tears filled her eyes as the shorter penguin hugged her. Skipper couldn't help but cry on Rocky as tears cascaded down her face as well.

"I-I knew it…" Rocky whispered.

"I made a promise." Skipper whispered back.

Rocky laughed, "We have so much catching up to do. Is it true? What happened in Europe, did it really happen?"

"Denmark?" Skipper asked, wiping tears from his eyes.

"No, after that, Denny and Lenny." Rocky replied.

"De-? Oh, Manfredi and Johnson…yeah, it's true."

"Jordan hates you because of that."

"So does Manfredi…can we change the subject?"

Rocky stared into her brother's eyes, "Sure, how are the Runaway and the Rescued recruits?"

"Kowalski, Rico, and Private are my teammates now; they're just behind these bushes." Skipper pointed in the general direction of the other three.

"I told you that you'd make a great leader."

"And you were right. Have you heard from Mom? I haven't heard from her in twelve years."

"That's because after Europe, you vanished off the face of the earth. None of us knew you were alive until we saw that video of you being transferred from New York to Kenya."

"You were looking for me there."

"That was going to be a pit stop."

"I got back to New York."

"Skippa?" Private called, "Can we come out now?"

"Come here, Andre." Rocky said.

"Uh, I don't know anyone named Andre." Private said, "I'm Private."

"That's your name, Andre Peter Davis." Skipper told him."I kept telling you, but I forgot after a while."

The other two came out of the bushes and gave Rocky hugs. Private smiled and hugged her too.

"Wow," Rocky said to Kowalski, looking at hm. "I haven't seen you since our days at the academy."

Kowalski grinned, "I haven't changed much; neither have you, really."

Rocky laughed, "Rico! How's it going?"

Rico hacked up a pack of sardines and gave it to her.

"Thanks, been a while since I had packaged fish."

"So, how do we get off this island?" Julien's voice called out. He had evidentially snuck away from the lemurs.

"At ease, sis." Skipper said, noticing his sister's fighting stance.

"I've been working on a raft." Rocky said. "It's up north."

Before anyone could respond, a voice came from the trees, "You're not going anywhere." The voice growled harshly.

It was Sasha, and she was holding an unconscious Mort up by the tail.

_**A/N:**__ BAM! Cliffhanger, but that means you'll be hungry for more. Next chapter will be coming to an electronic source near you._


	12. Tugging at heartstrings

**Chapter 12**

"Good god," Skipper whispered.

"He's alive." Kowalski said.

"For now." Sasha cackled.

Skipper looked at her, she'd gone insane. Her fur was a mess, her crown was lopsided and leaves had fallen out, and her eyes had a wild look in them.

Rocky was stunned. "What the heck?"

"Just another day in the life of your brother, eh?" Skipper said. Rocky stifled a snicker.

Rico hacked up a chainsaw and laughed maniacally. Rocky gasped in amazement.

"Please let us leave." Private whimpered.

"Never!" Sasha said hysterically, spit flying from her mouth. She laughed again, sounding like a deranged hyena. "I want justice! I want to be in charge, ME!"

"Yup, she's insane." Rocky said, putting up her flippers in defense.

She ran up to Julien, dragging Mort behind her. The rest of the lemurs were watching from the trees.

"You have caused all my followers to abandon me!" she screamed into his face, "I only have Jin left!" she indicated a buff lemur who was flexing his muscles.

"I really don't think you're in any position to be making demands of me." Julien snarled.

Sasha screamed in frustration and threw Mort. Private managed to catch the tiny lemur.

"YOU KNOW NOTHING!" Sasha bellowed, "THE HUMILIATION I EXPERIENCED, AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"WHAT ABOUT MY PAIN!" Julien yelled back, "YOU RUINED MY CHILDHOOD, KILLED MORT'S PARENTS AND CORRUPTED THE PEACE OF THIS ISLAND!"

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU AND YOUR PATHETIC LIFE; I WANT TO BE IN CHARGE!"

"SHOVE OFF!"

Skipper jumped between them with Kowalski on his right and Rico on the left.

"We don't want trouble." Skipper said calmly, "Sasha, please step down and-" WHAM!

Sasha had punched him in the face. She was tackled to the ground by Kowalski, and Rico had Jin at bay with the chainsaw.

Jin pulled a knife out and grinned at Rico, "Come on, let's make it a fair fight."

Rico scoffed and hacked up a knife, throwing his chainsaw behind him.

Jin jabbed at Rico forcefully. Rico managed to dodge it and licked the knife like a psycho. Rico swiveled and slashed the knife down. Jin barely avoided it. The knife scraped his arm.

"Gah! So you are not an amateur, penguin." Jin spat, aiming a kick at Rico.

Rico fell backwards and vomited, and then he jumped back up and growled. He sped towards the lemur like a bullet, knocking him into the air. Jin grabbed a branch and grinned, "That's all you got?"

"No." Rico rasped, "Jus' started."

"Show me your A-game, bird." The buff lemur jeered.

Rico snapped. He hacked up a flamethrower and picked up his chainsaw. A burst of flame shot out and burned the hairs on Jin's head.

Jin screamed, "That's not fair game!"

"Rico's a maverick, he makes his own rules." Skipper said, holding Sasha down.

Rocky slid around the trees and knocked out Sasha and Jin in two blows.

"I was getting to that." Skipper said, slightly annoyed.

"You were dragging it out." Rocky said, patting her brother's head.

The lemurs cheered and came out of hiding.

A surge of static came from Rico's gut. He hacked up a small radio.

"Skipper…co…i…Ski..." Marlene's voice sounded.

Skipper picked up the device, "Marlene! Are you okay? What's going on? We're in Madagascar. I found Rocky."

"Josie…labo…pai…Be…nd...Sta…y…ere..." She tried through the static interference.

"Labor pains?" Rocky suggested.

Julien gasped, "Skipper, I have to be there."

Skipper nodded, "Rico, Kowalski, Rocky, do you think you could get the raft?"

"Um, I hate to interrupt," Gerald said, "but Sasha found your raft and destroyed it, she pelted us with the remnants" He put a pile of broken sticks at their feet.

Private gasped, still holding Mort. "How do we get out of here?" He asked.

Rocky took the radio and fiddled with some buttons. "Antarctic Base, this is Team Skippy, come in. Repeat, Team Skippy contacting Antarctic base, come in Antarctic base." She spoke into the radio.

BZZT! Roger. BZZT! Signal…BZZT…choppy…-

The line went dead.

"Now what?" Private whimpered.

"We send them our coordinates," Rocky said, punching some buttons on the radio.

"Kowalski, location," Skipper ordered, "give it to me in latitude and longitude"

Kowalski took out his abacus and notepad, he fiddled with the beads and wrote down complex equations, "Mm-hm…" he muttered to himself, "Yeah, okay…" he took out a calculator and punched in some numbers, "Right, 20°174'S latitude and 44°17'E longitude, sir!"

Rocky entered the numbers into the radio and sighed, "Now, Andre, we wait." She said. "How's Ri-"

"Never found." Skipper said with a glare.

"Who?" Private asked.

"Shh!"

"Skippa! How come I never know anything?"

"Okay, I'll tell you anything but that."

"What happened to my parents?"

Silence came over the penguins; the only sound was of the lemurs chatting.

"You never told him?" Rocky asked, "Did you tell them about Rico and Kowalski?"

"I did, a little." Kowalski admitted, "I told them my story and how I found Rico."

"I guess it's time to tell the tale of Andre Peter Davis." Skipper sighed, "Let's see, it all started seventeen years ago, I was eleven at the time."

_FLASHBACK: (SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO…Cherbourg, France_

"_Are you sure this is the right place?" A female penguin with a British accent asked, holding her baby._

"_Yes, wait here." A rabbit said, disappearing in the blink of an eye._

"_Wait, I-"_

"_Mademoiselle?" A voice came from behind her; it was a penguin wearing a beret."Follow me." He said with a French accent._

"_But I was told to wait here; I wish to return to Durlston National Park."_

"_Not here, please." The penguin whispered, leading her to what looked like a cubicle._

"_Is that the loo? I don't have to go to go."_

_The male winked and pulled a lever, revealing a tube. "Come, the boy too."_

"_What, you think I'd leave my son here? He's barely a day old!" She called after him, but he was already in the tube. She sighed and followed him, clutching the baby tightly._

_She landed on a mattress in what looked like an underground base._

"_Hi, welcome to our French base." The other penguin said with an American accent._

"_Aha, so you're not French." The female said._

"_No, Candace, I'm Johnny Bone." He responded, "General Kent sent different agents to make sure you arrived safely. Skipper!"_

_A small penguin rushed over, "Sir?"_

"_Help her with the baby." Bone ordered._

"_Yes, sir. Ma'am?" He held his flippers out for the baby._

"_Be careful with him." Candace said._

"_Don't worry, the little Private's safe with me." Skipper said._

"_And so said the eleven year old." Bone said, shaking his head._

"_He's only eleven?" Candace asked, shocked._

_Bone nodded, "But back to the matter at hand."_

"_They were the best, Andrew and Nigel…and now…"_

"_I know, Koru is vicious."_

_They continued their discussion in hushed voices. Five minutes later Candace appeared deeply saddened, she looked over at Skipper. Skipper was trying to figure out why the child was so fascinated by his flipper. The baby had Skipper's flipper and did not want to let go._

"_Gee, Private." Skipper said, "I'd love you on my team one day."_

"_That might not happen." Johnny said, finishing up with Candace. "He's to be brought to his Grandmother, and Candace here has to go into hiding."_

"_Oh, Andre…my Andre…" Candace said, tears falling from her eyes. "Be safe, my son."_

_The baby gurgled happily, Skipper tickled him._

_FIVE YEARS LATER…found young Andre saying goodbye to his grandmother near Devon, England. _

"_Take care of him, Skipper."_

"_I will. He's going to his Uncle Nigel." Skipper reassured her._

"_Skipper, why do we care about a sniveling baby?" Manfredi asked, throwing the four year old a look of disdain._

"_Uhh, Dennis, it's probably best not to question the leader." Kowalski said, scribbling on his notepad._

"_Stuff it, newbie; you've been here one year."_

"_Manfredi, don't tell him to stuff it, and I promised to take care of this baby." Skipper said. "Hey, Private, you're safe now." He told the small penguin that fell asleep in his flippers._

_Nigel showed up and took Private to Greenland, where they stayed for two years._

_Then one day, Uncle Nigel vanished, leaving no trace of where he had gone._

"_Hi again," Skipper said once he found the small penguin, "I'm taking you to Antarctica."_

_The child nodded, tears forming in his eyes._

"_Him again?" Manfredi spat, seeing Skipper holding the child's flipper._

"_What can we do about it?" Johnson asked._

_Manfredi chuckled to himself, "You'll see."_

_An hour later, they were riding a boat to Antarctica._

"_Hey Kowalski, check on Private." Skipper ordered from the front._

_Kowalski nodded and approached the bundle of blankets. He pulled a blanket back and gasped, "He's gone!"_

"_WHAT?" Skipper said, punching the brake on the boat, they sputtered to a stop. He leapt out of his seat and ran to the blankets. "Andre…PRIVATE?"_

_Skipper opened his beak to call again, when he spotted Manfredi and Johnson whispering._

"_You did this." Skipper growled._

"_Yeah, I did."_

_Skipper pounced on Manfredi and began hitting him._

_Meanwhile, the seven year old penguin was being pulled onto the shore._

"_Where am I?" he asked groggily._

"_Nova Scotia." A voice answered, it was a spider monkey, holding a mini golf club. "You want to play a few rounds?"_

"…_I just got out of nearly drowning and you're asking me to play mini golf?" Andre said, looking at the monkey, puzzled._

"_Yup." He replied, "I'm Sunny, who are you?"_

"_I don't really know." The penguin said._

"_Eh, that's okay…how about Mr. Tux?" he asked, showing the young penguin a red bowtie._

"_Ooh…yes!" the delighted young one said, admiring the bowtie, he put it on and smiled. "I love this!"_

_And thus began the three year reign of Mr. Tux. After he retired his bowtie and club at the age of ten, he wandered what he came to know as the United States of America._

_Realizing that he had no food or water, he tried to find the ocean again._

"_Where am I now?" he asked himself, the only reply came from his hungry belly._

_After about an hour, he felt like he was being watched. He quickened his pace nervously._

"_Hello?" he whimpered, "Who's following me?"_

_He mainly avoided the city, and then he felt a tap._

"_AAAAAAHHHH!" He jumped and cowered._

"_Hey, I won't hurt you." An otter said, smiling, "You and I are both lost, I'm trying to get home."_

"_Me too, where do you live?"_

"_Bayfield Wisconsin, I was taken by hunters. What about you, you're a kid?"_

"_England, then Greenland, now I'm not sure. My name's…er…I'm…" A distant memory brought something, "Private."_

"_Whoa, England, pretty far. I'm Tarizuki, but most call me Izzy or Izman…or annoying."_

_Private laughed._

"_I hear something." Izzy said suddenly "Got to go! Take care of yourself kiddo!"_

_He vanished just as a shadow flew by him._

_A female penguin came into view. "Hi, I'm Tori Veruna of the Antarctic force; I'm here to take you to Skipper."_

_Private nodded._

_He was taken to New York where he met Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico._

**END FLASHBACK**

"And that, in a nutshell, is how we met you." Skipper concluded.

"So, my dad is dead and my mum is…where?" Private wondered.

"She's with my mother and Rico's father, in hiding."

"And what happened to Manfredi and Johnson?"

Skipper paused, scratching his beak, "We took you on your first mission, you wanted to find your grandmother. Unfortunately, she had passed away, so we went to find where she was buried. Johnson was jealous; he tried to get rid of you. We had a fight and I left him there. Manfredi told me I was stupid for picking a kid over my teammates…and I…I told him he could go…I didn't think he actually would…but he did."

"They hated me?" Private said softly, "But they always acted nice around me."

"I threatened them into being nice to you." Skipper said. "It seemed to work for a little while."

"You were in the Force when you were eleven?" Julien asked.

"Yes," Skipper said, "After our mother went into hiding, Rocky and I went our separate ways. We only saw each other once after that…the mission to Denmark…ugh."

"What is that sound?" Julien asked, covering his ears.

A loud motor sounded from above, a small helicopter descended upon them. The animals hid in the forest as the plane landed. A penguin stepped out of it, his goggles lopsided on his head.

"BONE!" Skipper said, he ran up and saluted the penguin. "Boys, come!"

Rocky and the boys ran up to Skipper and saluted the older penguin.

"Hi Johnny!" Rocky said.

"Hey Rocky!" He gave her a hug and saluted the boys. "Ready to go home?"

The animals nodded.

The helicopter was in the air with the penguins, Julien, and Mort on it.

"Here, use this radio to contact your zoo." Johnny Bone said, pointing to a radio.

Skipper fiddled with some buttons, "Central Park, this is Skipper, come in."

Static filled the helicopter, and then it stopped, "Skipper?" Marlene's voice came out of it.

"Yeah, I'm so glad to hear your voice, we're coming home!"

"Oh Skipper," Marlene sighed, "Oh! Josie's gone into labor; the baby's coming any minute!"

"Can you fly this tin can faster?" Julien asked.

"Sure!" Bone grinned, "TURBO BOOST!" He punched a button and they flew with the speed of a rocket.

The jolt had woken Mort, "Whoa!" he squealed.

They landed in the park. Julien hopped out and ran to his habitat. "Josie?"

A pained yell responded.

The penguins and Julien found Josie in a corner with Becky, Stacy, and Marlene around her.

Julien rushed to her side and squeezed her hand.

"One more time, push!" Becky squeaked.

A second of silence, then a baby's cry permeated the air.

"Julien?" Stacy said, "Would you like to meet your stepdaughter?"

"Yes," he held his arms out for her. "What should we name her?"

"I like Maya." Josie whispered.

"Hello, Maya Josephine."

**A/N:** Aaaaaaand end of chapter! Please leave a review!


	13. Trouble has a cute smile

I have returned from parts unknown! …meaning I survived the hectic atmosphere of graduation…anyway I am continuing this story and it is not near completion at all.

**Chapter 13**

It had only been two weeks and Maya was already stirring up frenzy. She was hungry one minute, and tired the next. The lemurs were evidentially unprepared for the baby. Maurice was tired from taking care of Maya when Josie needed a break; Mort ran around, trying to touch the feet; Julien was scolded for taking her on the bouncy; and Josie was getting fewer minutes of sleep each day.

Rocky had gotten used to the zoo and decided to stay for a while. She loved Maya and always volunteered to help.

The boys mainly tried to avoid the crying baby.

In the weeks that followed, Maya was learning to crawl and got into more trouble than before.

"RINGTAIL!" Skipper yelled from his habitat.

Julien, who was sweating with anxiety, ran down and faced Skipper.

"Did you find her?" he asked, looking around frantically.

Skipper showed the lemur his coffee cup which had fur in it. "You're lucky it was cold. Private, bring the baby!"

Rocky, Kowalski, Private and Rico came out of the bathroom with Maya who was fresh and fluffy.

"That, boys, is how you bathe a baby lemur." Rocky said, looking at the tiny lemur in Private's flippers.

The boys nodded, Kowalski took notes.

Julien took the baby from Private, "Thank you, penguins…sorry for…uhh…misplacing her…yeah, misplacing…that works." He grinned.

Skipper rolled his eyes, "Next time you lose her, don't."

Julien was puzzled, but shrugged and left with Maya.

"Wow, imagine if there was a baby penguin living here." Private gushed.

Kowalski stared from Private to Skipper, "May I?"

Skipper nodded.

Kowalski slapped Private on the head, "Don't be naïve, we're an elite force, not daddies."

"Just because you had a terrible past, doesn't mean you have to bring everyone down." Private blurted out, immediately covering his beak.

Kowalski stared emotionlessly at him, opened his beak, and then locked himself in his lab.

"Private," Skipper said in a shocked tone, "that was-"

"Completely uncalled for," Private finished for him, "I know."

Private sighed and walked over to the lab. He knocked softly, "Kowalski?" he called.

No response.

"Come on, Kowalski, I know you're angry with me but..." He sighed, "Please come out so we can talk."

Inside the lab, Kowalski was in front of the door, but he didn't move or speak.

"Kowalski, you're like a big brother to me." Private said, "Skipper's like a father, but you and Rico are my brothers. I look up to you and…I feel like we're close and…I'm sorry."

Kowalski squeezed his eyes shut, tears falling down.

"Honestly, I'm sorry."

The lab door opened and Kowalski peered out, "I forgive you." he said.

Private grinned and gave him a big hug.

"Well, you could be brothers." Rocky said, helping Rico clean his weapons. "I mean you do look alike."

"Yeah, just a little." Private said.

"Well, I never knew my mother, I don't even know if she's alive…or if she remembers me." Kowalski said.

"I didn't know my parents either, only that my dad died and my mum's in hiding." Private sighed.

"Hang on," Rocky said, "You don't think-"

"MAYA NO! HELP ME PENGUINS!" A scream shattered the serene environment.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Skipper groaned, "Alright men and Rocky, let's move out!"

The penguins found Julien on the wall of Burt's habitat.

Rocky's mouth dropped open and Private gasped.

"Julien," Private whimpered, "Please tell me she didn't go into the elephant habitat…"

"Um, okay, she didn't go in the elephant habitat." Julien said, smiling nervously.

"ARE YOU INSANE, LEMUR?" Skipper bellowed.

"Skipper, no time!" Rocky said, pointing at Burt.

The elephant was dancing in tune to the music coming from the radio in the lemurs' habitat. He was also singing to himself.

Maya was curious about the tail and was jumping to get it.

"Private, Ringtail, terminate the noisemaker." Skipper ordered, "Kowalski, get the elephant's attention. Rocky, Rico, follow me."

Skipper slid towards Maya who narrowly avoided a foot stomping on her.

"Maya!" he called.

The frightened lemur saw Skipper and began to cry.

Rico and Rocky zipped in between the legs, trying to avoid the elephant.

Skipper ran behind, his flippers waving in signal to the other two.

Rocky managed to grab the baby, and then passed her to Rico just as the music stopped.

Burt had finally stopped moving and listened to Kowalski.

"Okay, she's safe." Kowalski said, relieved.

The penguins exited the habitat and came face to face with Private; Julien, Josie, Mort, and Maurice were behind him.

Maya was staring at Rico so intently that she jumped when handed to Maurice.

"Nap time, little Maya." He said, taking her back to the lemur habitat.

"Really, Julien?" Josie said, furiously. "HOW COULD YOU LOSE HER?"

"Okay, I admit that the first time…might have been…partially…my fault. But the second time wasn't!" He said defensively, "I had her in the crib that the smarty booty penguin made."

"I designed it last Thursday, and there's no way she could have gotten out by herself." Kowalski said.

Josie rubbed her head, "Okay, I have a headache and do NOT want to deal with this right now."

"Then go relax, darling," Julien said, "I promise tha-"

"No," Josie interrupted, "Last time you promised something, Maya almost got an elephant foot in her face."

"Which wasn't that long ago," Skipper said, "Alright, back to the habitat."

The penguins slid back down to their habitat.

Kowalski brought out some test tubes and Rocky was holding different liquids for him.

Skipper opened a classified folder and began looking through it.

Private sat at the table, watching Kowalski's experiment.

"Wow," Private said, shaking his head, "I can't believe that Julien lost her and it was within the half hour he departed from here. I hope he and Josie make up soon."

"Eh, they'll work it out." Rocky shrugged. "What's up, Rico?"

Skipper looked over at Rico who was polishing the same spot of a smoke bomb with a glazed look in his eyes.

He stared absentmindedly at the ceiling, a vague face slid in front of his brain, as if it had always been there…hidden…waiting…but he couldn't reach it…he felt like there was a hole there…deep…gaping hole…unlike the ceiling…wouldn't it be awesome to have a hole there…maybe a stick of dynamite would be able to-

"Rico!"

"Huh?" Rico grunted, snapping out of it at the sound of the leader's voice.

"I asked if you were alright, soldier." Skipper said, walking towards him.

"Uhh...'m good…" he mumbled.

Kowalski looked at him suspiciously, and Private had a concerned expression.

"Are you really okay, Rico?" Private asked.

Rico nodded.

"Uh, Rocky." Kowalski said, waving a flipper in front of her face.

"What?" Rocky said, "Oh, just thinking of…stuff…" she gave her brother a meaningful look.

"Would everyone tell me what all the staring in the distance is about?" Private asked.

Rocky sighed, "You wouldn't understand."

Awkward silence followed her statement. Then it was broken by Marlene.

"Hey guys, did you hear about the breeding program?" she asked, "They want to see if they can get another baby lemur."

Skipper turned pink and grinned nervously.

Private giggled, Kowalski covered the younger one's ear holes, "Not in front of the Private." He said.

"Sorry." Marlene looked at Rico who began to drift off again. "What's he thinking about?"

"Rikki." Rocky said, before covering her beak quickly.

It was too late; Kowalski's flippers had slid away from Private's head as soon as Marlene apologized.

"Who's Rikki?" Private asked.

"Yeah, who is Rikki?" Julien asked, jumping down from the fish bowl entrance.

"Better question, what are you doing in my HQ?" Skipper growled.

Julien sniffed a test tube and gagged, "Oh, gross…If you must know, I am being time outed by my lovely Josie."

Rocky, Kowalski, and Marlene laughed, but Private was staring at Skipper.

"I want to know." Private said.

Skipper sighed, "She's Rico's younger sister."

"Oh, story time!" Julien said, clapping.

"BYE!" Skipper snapped.

Julien looked ruffled, "Well." He huffed, stomping out.

Skipper looked at Rico, who nodded,

"Okay," Skipper said, "I'm going to tell you about the Blue siblings."

**FLASHBACK TIME! Whoooo-oooooo-ooooo…..**

A young seven year old penguin slid across the ice happily, calling for a second penguin to join her.

The second penguin was a male, small and wearing what looked like a small rocket.

"Go Rico!" The younger female cheered.

Rico lit the rocket and he shot across the ice before crashing into his sister.

"Sorry Rikki." He mumbled.

Rikki laughed and hugged him, "You're nine years old, when are you going to stop being shy and use your voice?"

Rico blushed and kicked the ground.

Rikki laughed again, pushing Rico into the snow. "Watch this!" She twirled on the ice. "Come join me!"

Rico shook his head, "Thin ice. Come back!" he called.

"You have to catch me first." She squealed, sliding further out.

Rico slid over, trying to get her to come back.

"Rico? Rikki?" A voice called, "Time to eat!"

Rikki looked disappointed; she took a step and saw a dark shadow pass under them.

Rico panicked, pushing Rikki in front, "RUN!"

She grabbed his flipper and they ran, but Rikki tripped and landed on the ice.

CRACK!

"Uh-oh." Rico gasped, trying to pull his sister off of the cracking ice.

"DADDY!" Rikki bellowed.

"DADA!" Rico screamed.

BANG! CRASH! Out of the ice burst a gigantic leopard seal.

The kids screamed as the seal made a beeline for them.

The seal swiped its large flippers, sending a piece of ice hurling at Rikki's face.

"OW! HELP! RICO? DAD?"

The seal's mouth bore upon her, open wide and-

"NO!" Rico screamed, kicking the seal in the nose.

He pushed his sister out onto thicker ice, but the seal caught him around the head.

He felt his throat closing as he screamed, pushing and kicking.

Then the seal howled in pain, dropping the small penguin.

He saw his father's feet in front of him, "Rico?"

The small boy fainted.

He woke up to find his father sitting next to him. "Oh thank goodness." He put his flipper up, "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Rico looked at him, puzzled.

"Kidding, what's your name?"

"R-Ri-co-Blue" He struggled, clutching his throat.

"Don't strain yourself," Rex said, giving Rico some water.

Rico sat bolt upright, "Ri…Ri…"

"Your sister is sleeping now and Grandma's taking care of her. She was asking about you…and…" he paused, but was encouraged by his son's nod, "She's blind."

Rico's beak dropped open and he shook his head in protest, "I did…I…sorry…"

"No son, she told me what happened." Rex said, "You're mighty brave, I'll give you that." He grinned for a second. "It's my fault; I should have been more attentive."

Rico hugged his dad, trying to comfort him.

**END OF FLASHBACK**

Rocky and Skipper looked at Rico with an air of sadness; Private and Marlene were silently crying, patting Rico on the back. Rico looked around at them…his friends…his family, would always be there for him and he would never turn his back on them.

Kowalski let out a small groan and everyone turned to him. He was shaking from head to foot, his eyes red and brimmed with tears.

"It wasn't my fault…" he gasped, "Why am I the unlucky one? Rico, your dad never blamed you for what happened…he loves you." Kowalski trembled, "Skipper, Private, your fathers died for you…they died protecting you and trying to make the world a better place…MINE HATES ME! MINE BLAMES ME FOR EVERYTHING THAT'S WRONG WITH THE WORLD!"

Skipper inhaled deeply "Kowal-"

"NO!" Kowalski shouted, "I'M ANGRY WITH YOU TOO!"

Skipper was puzzled, "Explain."

"ONE BY ONE, I WATCHED AS MY FRIENDS DISAPPEARED…IZZY WAS TAKEN FROM US…EMMA DIED BEFORE MY EYES…AND NAT…" he choked back tears, "Natty…I was reunited with her…then I-I lost her…AND YOU LEFT HER IN HOBOKEN! SHE DOESN'T DESERVE THAT PLACE!" He ended in short raspy breaths.

"Yeah, she does." Julien's voice came from above.

"Way to ruin the moment, Ringtail." Skipper growled. "Kowalski, I'm sorry, is that what you want me to say? Let me answer that for you, no, you want to go get Nat…She made her decision, and when she wants to come back she will and I won't stop her…I promise. I can't change the fact that Emma's dead, and I can't do much about your father. I could try to find Izzy, but I wouldn't know where to begin. Get some rest, soldier, you need it. I'll be on recon tonight."

Kowalski nodded and headed to his bunk.

Skipper turned to Julien who was nervously wringing his hands. "Alright, what do you want Ringtail?"

"Maya's gone."

"Seriously? It's been twenty minutes."

"Josie was napping and Maurice was making me a smoothie. I was telling him what to put in it. He said he made sure there was, as smarty booty said, there was no way she could be getting out."

"Hang on." Private said, "Where was Mort all day? I only saw him near the boom box when we turned it off."

"Hmm, good point. MORT!" Julien called.

A few seconds of silence, then pattering feet announced the tiny lemur's arrival, "Yes, King Julien?" Mort squeaked innocently.

"Have you seen Maya?" Julien asked.

Mort hesitated, "N-no, no Maya here. Uhh…Coming King Julien!" he squealed, zipping out of the room.

"Anyone find that suspicious?" Rocky asked; everyone nodded, running up the ladder.

Mort zipped out of view, but the penguins were on his trail.

Julien tried to keep up, but he ran into an angry Josie.

"Uhh, you are dreaming…whoooo…" he waved his hands.

Josie raised an eyebrow.

"No really, if you were awake, could I do this?" He attempted what looked like a cartwheel and a somersault with the result being that he crashed on the ground.

Josie glared at him, "Julien, where's Maya?"

"Maurice was in charge, ask him!"

Maurice shrugged, "I told her that Maya was sleeping safely in the crib." He scratched his head, "It wasn't Julien's fault this time, and I was with him until he found the empty crib."

Meanwhile, the penguins cornered Mort in the Zoovenir shop.

"Mort, where's the baby?" Rocky asked.

"Mort don't know nothing." He mumbled.

"Mort, you can speak correctly, tell me where she is."

Mort shook his head.

"Alright, I'll get the answer out of him." Skipper growled, "Rico!"

Rico regurgitated a flamethrower and pointed it at the lemur. Mort trembled and cried.

"Mort, don't you know that the baby could die if she's not fed every so often? She's just an infant and you placed her in danger." Private told him.

"I-I didn't know…" Mort said fearfully, "S-she's in the park..."

Meanwhile, Marlene had seen the baby wandering around out in the park, but the penguins were gone. She raced to the gate, pausing hesitantly. She was unsure of going outside, her feral side posed a problem.

"Come here, Maya. Come on sweetie!" she called.

Maya looked at Marlene and sat down.

"No, not sit, come!" Marlene begged, "Please? I'll play a game with you, how does that sound?"

Maya looked at the otter curiously.

"I'll dance, sing, and fall on my butt, whatever makes you happy, if you come here." Marlene said.

Maya giggled, extending her tiny arms.

"I can't come over there." Marlene said sadly, "You have to come over here."

Just then, a screech filled the sky. Marlene looked up to see a falcon, but it wasn't Kitka.

"Oh no…MAYA!" Marlene screamed.

Maya cowered and trembled.

The falcon prepared to dive.

"SKIPPER!" Marlene bellowed, causing the baby to cry harder.

The falcon narrowed its eyes.

Marlene took a deep breath and bolted towards Maya. "Come on, Marlene, keep it together." She groaned, feeling dizzy. She grabbed the baby and turned back, but her feral side had taken over.

A/N: Oh no! Stay tuned to find out what happens next.

Also, I need help finding a last name for Maya Josephine. I was thinking about Ringtail, but I'm open to suggestion.


	14. Maya and Little foot

_NO!_ Marlene screamed in her head, she was lost in darkness but could hear heavy breathing. _Why does this happen to me?_

The baby slid from her grasp and landed with a small thump, staring at the feral beast in front of her. Maya shook and whimpered with fright, where was that lady who was coming to get her?

Feral Marlene growled and let out a roar, frightening Maya into loud sobs.

"MARLENE!" Skipper screamed, surrounded by the lemurs and penguins. "Leave her, it's me you want."

Feral Marlene roared again and grabbed Maya. Josie screamed, clutching her chest.

"DADA!" Maya screamed.

Julien gasped, "Daddy's coming!" he bolted after Marlene; the penguins and other lemurs chased after them.

Marlene dragged the struggling baby up a tree and sniffed her.

"Engh! Bajawoo!" Maya babbled. "Gmmchi! Dada pabu!"

"Marlene." Skipper said, jumping onto the branch, "Give me the baby."

Feral Marlene snarled at him, spotting the others surrounding her. She raised the baby above her head and jumped, shaking the branch. _No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Somebody do something! Can anyone hear me?_

"Whoa!" Skipper said, regaining his footing. "Alright, let's try that again, don't jump."

She jumped again anyway, but this time she lost her balance and fell out of the tree.

She fell on the ground and Maya rolled off of her. She stood up in a flash and growled, preparing to pounce on the baby.

Julien bounded in between them, "You will do no such harm to my child."

_Yeah, kinda hard right now_! Marlene screamed in her head, blurry images came across her.

The feral otter threw herself on Julien and growled, raising her claw.

A whistle sounded and Marlene covered her ears, whimpering. She turned to see Josie standing there with a rope.

"Now Marlene, I don't want to have to do this." Josie said sternly, "But you unhand Julien and step away from the baby."

Marlene growled and clutched Julien tighter.

Rico hacked up a chainsaw and approached them.

_OH MY GOSH! NOT THE CHAINSAW! RICO ARE YOU INSANE? What am I saying, he's full blown PSYCHO! HELP!_ The otter's body shook and she clutched her head in pain, her feral side now battling for dominance. _SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING WITHOUT A LETHAL WEAPON!_

Private seized the moment to slide in and sneak Maya away before the feral otter noticed. He took Maya inside the zoo gates and watched the others. Maya held onto Private and buried her face in his feathered chest.

Marlene was now surrounded. Rocky and Skipper were hidden in the trees; Rico, Kowalski, Josie, Maurice and Mort were around her.

Julien wiggled out of Marlene's grasp and stood in the circle.

Marlene snarled, trying to escape. _No, don't hurt them…they're my friends …Rico …Private…Josie…help me… Kowalski…make some invention...Skipper…don't leave me.._.

"Marlene?" Skipper said; he saw the feral otter holding herself as if she was in pain. "Now, boys!"

The penguins heaved her up and bolted to the gates. They managed to get there just as the feral otter was about to attack them again.

Marlene was normal again, but unconscious. Private returned Maya to Josie and joined the other three penguins. The penguins brought Marlene back to her habitat and placed her on her bed.

"Boys, give us a moment." Skipper said, waving a flipper.

Private looked confused, "But I don't-"

"Alright, let's go." Kowalski said, pushing the youngest one out. "There's a new Lunacorns episode tonight."

"Yay!" Private chirped.

Rico grinned at the leader and followed the other two out. "Night-night." He said.

Skipper rolled his eyes, and then he looked at Marlene. He studied her for a while, noticing that she seemed calm by his presence.

He heard the trash being collected, but something fell out. Skipper left the cave to investigate. Somebody had dropped a poster of a man playing the guitar. He smiled, thinking Marlene would love that, then picked it up and brought it into her habitat. He placed it on the floor and neatly folded it.

He jumped, just having noticed the time, was about to run out when he zipped back and gave Marlene a kiss. He blushed, though no one could see, and left her habitat.

Silence in the penguin habitat meant that Private's show was over and Skipper slid down the entrance and faced his sleepy team. Private was already asleep in his bunk, and Rico was yawning.

"Good night, men." He said, plopping down in his own bunk.

Rico's snores filled the room less than a minute later.

"Skipper." Kowalski whispered

"What?" Skipper asked sleepily.

"Did you say good night to Marlene?" Kowalski said, grinning.

"Yes, why?"

"Oh, nothing to be concerned about."

"You just wanted to know if she's been told good night."

"Or kissed."

"W-what? Who told?"

"You did, just now."

"Go to sleep, Kowalski."

Kowalski snickered quietly.

Skipper rolled his eyes again and turned on his side. _Shows what he knows…Is it true? Have I fallen for Marlene? Her eyes are pretty…and her fur…and her personality…she's so nice…I think I might…love her…can it be that I, a penguin, have fallen in love with an otter? _His thoughts soon faded into dreams.

**THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE DURING **_**'LITTLEFOOT'**_** BUT FOCUSES MAINLY ON THE LEMURS.**

Josie yawned and opened her eyes; with a small cringe she remembered the events of the previous day. She went to check on Maya and discovered the crib empty.

"Julien!" She yelled.

"Can I help, Josie?" Maurice asked, handing her a smoothie.

"Where is-" She stopped, noticing the flood of people. "Oh, right."

Julien was dancing and waving to the people and Mort was trying to grab his feet. Maya was stumbling around and trying to catch her tail; she sneezed and fell on her butt, giggling and bringing cheers to the crowd.

"What time is it?" Josie asked, waving to the humans.

"Almost noon, you missed breakfast." Maurice said, "I would have woken you up but Julien was worried about how tired you were."

Josie smiled, "And Maya? She didn't eat, did she?"

"One of the zookeepers took care of that for you."

Josie sipped her drink, "Good, very good."

Julien danced around for the humans.

"Wonder what our neighbors are doing." Josie thought out loud

"Can we-"

"No." Josie said, interrupting Julien. "Let the penguins have a day without you. And we'll have some lemur time."

Julien blushed, "How much lemur time?"

Josie smacked him on the head. "Get that out of your brain, I'm not-"

"Calm down, I was kidding." Julien said, covering his head.

"Daddy." Maya giggled.

"We're going to try to get her to say Mama today."

"Huh? Malee."

"So far, she only says Daddy and Malee. I don't even know what that means."

"Cwabye"

"And what is that meaning?" Julien asked, picking up Maya.

"Uh-oh." Maya said with a worried look on her face.

"No worries, daddy's here." Julien said, holding the squirming child.

"Eee. Gaba ee. Daddy gaba ee." Maya said. Then she stopped moving and looked up at Julien.

"Why are you so warm?" Julien asked, "And why are you laughing at me?" He noticed Josie's giggles and Maurice trying not to laugh.

Mort, who had been trying to cuddle the feet, stepped back. "Feet…stinky…"

"Mort, my feets are not stin- why are you wet?" He saw a puddle on the ground, and then he grimaced, looking down. "I take back my question."

Josie, still giggling, took the baby from Julien. "Go wash off, I'll take care of her."

King Julien grumbled and sprayed himself with a hose.

"So, she was telling him that she had to pee." Maurice said, and they both roared with laughter. Maya, not knowing why, joined along.

"Ha ha, hilarious baby uses de king as a toilet." Julien said, "Stop laughing, your king commands you!"

They kept laughing, even when Julien pouted. Maya squealed with laughter and fell on her butt, then laughed harder. Julien couldn't resist the cuteness and laughed along with everyone else.

"Alright, time for baby to play." Josie said, putting Maya in a playpen that Rico gave them.

***5 hours of entertaining visitors later***

Maya waved as the zoo visitors left.

Josie sighed, hardly believing that five hours had flown by so quickly. Then she heard a squeal and saw Marlene running excitedly to the lemur habitat, holding a poster.

"Hi Marlene." Josie said.

Marlene's smile faded, "Hi guys."

She looked at Maya and the little lemur hid behind Julien.

"Hey, why so glum?" Josie asked.

Marlene sighed, "She hates me…and so do you."

Josie shook her head and put a hand on Marlene's shoulder, "Now that just isn't true. We don't hate you one bit."

"But I hurt her…I almost ki-"

"So you get wacky out of de zoo," Julien interrupted, "Go get smarty booty to help or something."

"Smarty-? Oh, Kowalski…they won't even talk to me, will they?"

"One way to find out." Josie said, "What is that paper?"

"Enrico Guitaro…the best Spanish guitar player ever! And he's in the park tonight!" Her momentarily lit up face fell again. "In the park…"

"Nuh-uh, you pick that smile right up." Josie said, "Julien's right for once in his life. Go to the penguins, they can help. You really want to see this guy perform?"

"Yes."

"Then go to the penguins. Kowalski's always inventing things…even if most of them eventually blow up or threaten to wipe out the entire east coast."

Marlene stifled a snicker, "Alright, I'll go to the penguins."

"Malee." A tiny voice squeaked, it was Maya who had come out from her hiding place. "Malee."

"Is she trying to say Marlene?" Maurice asked. Josie nodded.

Maya gave Marlene a hug. "Haa Malee"

"Thanks, Maya." Marlene gave the little lemur a pat on the head before running to the penguin habitat.

A few minutes later, Marlene and the penguins leave the HQ.

"How's it going, lemurs?" Rocky asked, jumping up to the platform.

"Good." Julien said, not really paying attention.

"So, there's supposed to be new arrivals soon."

"Really?" Josie asked.

"Rumor around the zookeepers." Rocky said.

"We could look on the computer." Josie said, "You know how to get on?"

"Duh, drove my brother and fellow students crazy back in Antarctica." Rocky said with a sly grin. "Come on!"

Rocky and the lemurs snuck into Alice's office with Mort and Maurice keeping watch. Josie held Maya.

Rocky typed something on the computer and the zoo transfer e-mails came up.

"Not for another two months, but there's supposed to be three penguins coming…three female penguins." Rocky giggled.

"Of course…" Josie rolled her eyes. "Any lemurs? Otters?"

"Hang on, yeah." Rocky squinted. "Oh wait, it's just a newspaper article about a rescued otter. It says that an underground gas line exploded and killed all but one male otter."

"Is he coming to our zoo?"

"No, but listen. 'Originally thought to have been illegally taken along with a female who may have been its mother, a male otter made its way to a riverbank until a gas explosion several months ago. The otter's mother unfortunately passed away before officials could rescue her from hunters. The young male otter, origins unknown, now resides at the Bronx zoo in New York.'"

Josie scratched her head. "Say, do you think it could be-"

CRASH!

"What the ham in a potato box was that?" Rocky yelled. She tore out of the building.

"Whoa." Julien said.

The penguins' fish bowl was barely hanging onto the hinges and smoke came from the entrance.

"Oh no." Josie and Rocky said at the same time.

"What is that?" Maurice asked.

They turned in time to see something brown slide out of sight and into the growing darkness.

Rocky slid into the habitat.

The lemurs heard her cough and then move things around. There was a clatter and a gasp. Then silence.

"Rocky?" Josie said nervously.

A high pitched whine sounded near them. They looked around for the source of the noise. Mort had been tugging on Josie's tail for the last five minutes.

She finally snapped, "What?" she barked.

Mort, trembling under her stern glare, pointed to Julien's arms. Maya was shaking and whining with fright as though she was having a nightmare, but was awake and rubbing her face on Julien's chest.

"King Julien, I think we should take her to bed." Maurice suggested.

"No." Josie said, "She's hungry, I'll feed her."

"No, no." Julien said, "If I am to be a good daddy, I will feed de baby. And Maurice will help me with the princess."

"Guys, come see this!" Rocky called.

Josie and Julien climbed down to the HQ while Maurice got a bottle for Maya.

Mort followed, eyeing the baby.

Rocky's beak was open in shock; it looked like feral Marlene was on the news as 'Littlefoot'.

The penguins came back to see feral Marlene gone. Rocky opened her mouth questioningly but Skipper shook his head. Then they left to look for the feral side while a scared Marlene stayed with them.

"Oh my gosh, what if it doesn't come back! What if it does? It's going to destroy us all! Oh no! Oh no!"

Then Private came back with the penguins' car.

"Hello Marlene, fancy a drive?"

Marlene trembled and looked at Rocky.

Private took the moment to wink and Rocky understood.

"Don't worry," Rocky said, "He's going to take you to a see someone special."

Marlene hesitated but climbed into the car and Private drove off.

"What do you think is happening now?" Josie asked.

"I have a hunch." Rocky said, "They need Kowalski's geek-machine to put Marlene back together."

A few minutes later Chuck Charles, the newscaster, appeared on the T.V; he was interviewing animal control officers.

"Ah, X!" Julien yelped, pointing at the tall man on the television.

"Who?" Rocky and Josie asked.

"Officer X, he's after the penguins...long story, I'll explain later." Maurice said.

"Oh no, they caught her?" Josie said sadly.

Rocky giggled as the door revealed Rico who burped loudly and left.

Josie pulled Julien out of the penguins' habitat, saying that they could be in trouble for being in there. Maurice and Mort followed as well.

Rocky fixed the fish bowl just as the boys and Marlene returned.

"The feral side is tamed." Skipper said with a huge grin.

"Yeah, after it destroyed most of midtown." Rocky said, rolling her eyes.

Marlene smiled; she couldn't believe what a great group of friends she had. "Thanks guys, you're the best."

She gave each of them a hug. Rico's was a quick hug because he had gooey love mush sensitivity; Kowalski's and Private's were more friendly hugs; and she squeezed Skipper happily before yawning and heading off to bed.

Kowalski busied himself with putting his Personadisentanglizer away while the others got ready for bed.

There was a knock at the fish bowl entrance and Private went to investigate.

"Huh?" He didn't see anyone there, he was about to close it when a breeze blew a piece of paper onto his face. He let out a startled yelp and fell back to the ground. "I'm okay." He said.

Rico closed the hatch and Skipper picked up the paper. "It's a note." He said, "It's not classified so I'll read it to you:

_Skipper and team,_

_Hope this letter finds you well. I've heard about your latest exploits and offer my congratulations. Furthermore, I shall be sending some cadets your way to be trained as they unfortunately did not quite…make it in our standards here. This is a big responsibility that I only trust my best soldiers, and you were one of the best when we had you. There are four of them who are, to put it into kinder terms, unique and boisterous penguins with the desire to prove themselves worthy. I will have my son bring them in the morning along with a note containing their descriptions. I am well aware that your zoo will be acquiring new animals in about two months time. No need to worry about that, we have pushed it back another month to give enough training time. I have full confidence in you and your team, good luck Skipper._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_General S. Kent_'"

"We have to train soldiers?" Private asked, "But sir, I'm barely-"

"You're fine Private," Skipper said, "I have the upmost confidence in you three and my sister too. We can mold these so called 'unique' crackers into iron soldiers."

Private smiled, proud to be helping in training. Skipper announced that they had a full day ahead of them so they should get some rest now.

As the zoo fell into peaceful slumber, a shadowed figure watched from above.

"You know your mission, we need him." A voice spoke to the figure.

"I am confident that my spy will be under such deep cover, they won't know what hit them."

"Your spy, what methods-"

"Now Dr. B, do you want me to spoil everything? I intercepted the delivery agent for you; don't make me intercept the General's son."

"Fine, but this plan better work better than Koru's or you're fired, literally, I mean I have a boiler here."

The figure grinned and slid out of sight.

A/N: A nice mysterious and action packed chapter to get us started again, huh?

A question for you, do you think General Kent is a male or female?

Sorry it took so long, my computer actually did something weird and deleted what I wrote after Josie said 'Good, very good.' Then I went on a cruise to Mexico and forgot all about what I wrote, then I didn't get my computer until recently.

Love you all for your patience! -T.K


	15. Recruits and chaos

Skipper woke up at the crack of dawn the next morning. He couldn't help but feeling nervous about this, what if everything went wrong? He tried to brush away his feelings and take a walk outside.

The air was cool with a slightly warm feel to it. Summer seemed to be approaching faster than last year. Even though it was only the beginning of May, he felt the warm summer gusts in between cool breezes. He also saw storm clouds in the distance. Kowalski would probably say something about the opposing currents and how they would create rain.

The others woke up an hour later and silently joined Skipper for some morning training.

Soon enough, a loud cry from the lemurs told them that Maya was awake.

"Alright boys, what do you do if your teammate's been brainwashed?" Skipper asked,

"Dry it?" Private suggested. He was slapped by Skipper.

"Agawabel?" Rico said.

"Of course not, that's illegal!" Skipper said.

"Hmm…brainwashed…" Kowalski muttered, pulling out his clipboard and scribbling on it.

Rocky kicked it out of his flippers and knocked all four penguins down.

Skipper stood up immediately, "That is what you do…fight while trying to make them see reason. If all else fails, knock 'em out until we get them to a safe place to pummel sense into them."

"More violence, Skippa?" Private chirped.

"Brute force is necessary in extreme situations young Private."

"Hey-o Skipper!" A cheerful voice called.

Skipper grimaced. "Byron Kent, nice to see you again."

"Cheer up chief, I brought you children to mold into soldiers…but not literally…because you can't mold penguins…but I me-"

"I know what you mean." Skipper said fast, cutting across Byron.

Byron whistled, "Cadets, front and center!"

Three of the penguins slowly moved into view and stood in front of Skipper; the fourth came barreling through and crashed into Private.

"Cadet Tammy, get over here."

The small female giggled and ran next to a male who was her age. "THAT WAS FUN!" She screamed, causing the other penguin to wince.

Byron handed Kowalski a paper while Rico helped Private up. Skipper observed the foursome.

The oldest one was a female who was wearing a perfectly attentive expression; the one next to her was a male who looked moody and tough; the one next to him was a nervous looking male who kept his eyes firmly on the ground; and the last one was an energetic female who looked like she was about to go on a sugar rush.

"Also, there's something else." Byron said. "Tori needs Rocky to fill a position on her team for a while."

Rocky nodded, "Alright, I guess this is goodbye for now." She said sadly.

Skipper's attention snapped back to his sister. She hugged Rico, Kowalski and Private, and then turned to Skipper.

"I know we've only been reunited for like two months but-"

"Rocky I…I'll miss you. But you have to promise you'll come back."

"I will and I'll bring mom too."

"I think I'd like that…and Rico's dad would like to see his son again."

"Don't forget my mum." Private sniffed.

Rocky smiled and hugged Skipper. "Don't cry" she whispered.

"In front of these cadets? Never." He whispered back.

She ruffled the feathers on his head and left with Byron.

"Alright cadets, head inside with the team and I'll be right in. Kowalski, you're in charge."

Kowalski saluted, gave Skipper the paper and lead the others inside the HQ.

Skipper looked at the paper which had information on the four cadets:

_Dear Skipper,_

_Your cadets' bios are here as noted._

_Nora: The oldest female and very studious and quiet. We thought you might be wondering why we sent her. She appears to be mentally unstable at rare times and is found often talking to herself. She can pack a powerful punch when aggravated. _

_Dan: The older male, he has a bit of an attitude problem and tends to be dramatic and screams a lot. He seemed to the other students to be wild and uncontrollable. Hopefully you can get past it and turn him into a worthy soldier._

_Charlie: This young boy saw his sister die at the hands of Koru and witnessed too much for his young age. He's nervous and bursts into tears whenever he thinks he's in trouble. Try not to be too hard on him._

_Tammy: I honestly don't know what to say here. We don't know why, but she's very hyper and asks a lot of questions. She's impossible. We've tried everything, but she cannot be taught by us. We were hoping you could do something._

_These are your cadets whether you like it or not. Good luck Skipper!_

_Sincerely,_

_General S. Kent_

Skipper's beak dropped, "Sarah, you are setting me an impossible task." He muttered to the letter.

A loud banging noise drew his attention. He growled and ran down to the HQ.

Apparently Tammy had run into the coffeemaker and spilled fresh coffee everywhere.

Charlie was hiding behind Private and at the sight of Skipper, he shrunk further behind Private.

Nora spotted Skipper and immediately stood at attention. Dan was lying in a bunk groaning about something.

Skipper looked at them. "All four of you, get over here."

Nora zipped to Skipper and saluted. Charlie nervously stood next to her. Kowalski had to pull Tammy to the line.

"I said all four of you." Skipper gave Dan a death glare.

Dan groaned and walked moodily over to the line.

Private, Rico, and Kowalski stood by Skipper.

"First, I want to know what your problem is." Skipper demanded fiercely, still glaring at Dan.

"Nothing, dude." Dan snapped. "If I had fingers, I would gi-"

"You cannot talk to your superior officer like that." Kowalski scolded.

"Watch me."

"Oh, you want to go there?" Kowalski was getting angry.

"Bring it, bowling pin!" Dan screamed.

"I SHOULD-"

"SHUT UP!"

"YOU-"

"ENOUGH!" Skipper yelled, "I didn't accept this mission vainly. You are here to have discipline pounded into you."

Charlie whimpered but Skipper ignored him.

"I'm Skipper, the leader."

"I am Lt. Kowalski, head of analysis and science." Kowalski said, breathing heavily and still glaring harshly at Dan. "This is Rico, our medic and weapons specialist." He pointed to Rico who grinned insanely; further frightening Charlie.

"And My name is Private, special operations." Private said. "What are your names?"

"Dan." The moody one shrugged.

"Sir, my name is Nora, sir." Nora said.

"Hi I'm Tammy! Want to be BFFs?" Tammy squealed.

Private laughed nervously and turned to Charlie. "Hello there, what's your name?" he asked.

"Ch-Charlie, s-sir." He squeaked.

"Kowalski, analysis on the cadets," Skipper said, "and tell it to them straight."

Kowalski nodded, "Nora seems to be the most normal and attentive, she should have no problem with our training. If not for Charlie's nervousness and fear he would be a valuable asset, however, I can't see him undergoing rigorous training right away. Dan thinks he's too cool for this and therefore needs to learn respect. Tammy is hyper and has a short attention span. She needs to learn structure, discipline, and pretty much everything if she wants to be a soldier."

Skipper nodded, it looked like he had a lot of work to do if he wanted to get these cadets up to speed on how things worked around here.

"Before we get started, tell me why you want to be a soldier. Why are you even standing in front of me today?" Skipper asked.

None of the cadets moved. Then Nora spoke.

"I want to bring change to our world." She said, "I want to take down the enemy and to do that I need to be tougher. I need to learn how to bring them down from the inside."

Skipper nodded, "So you want to be an inside agent? We'll work on that." He then turned to Charlie.

Charlie drew a shaky breath, "H-he k-killed my sister…a-and my fam- my family…I-I saw…" he closed his eyes which were brimming with tears. Then he opened them, "I want to destroy him, he ruined my life and I want him to pay." There was fury in the little one's eyes, and then in a second, it vanished.

"If we could tweak a few things, I see a great soldier in you." Skipper said.

Charlie turned pink and muttered something about the weather.

Dan rolled his eyes.

"And why are you here, kid?"

"First off, I'm seventeen. Not a kid. And second, this is stupid."

"I joined when I was eleven. And by then I did what I had to grow up and I became my own man."

"Do you know how many times you said 'I'?" Dan snickered.

"The four of us have had rough childhoods. Private, less so, but we know what it's like to be in the real world." Skipper said, "Let me guess, your parents tried pounding sense into you and then decided to throw you to military school."

"Something like that." Dan said, "The folks didn't trust me…no one does."

"ARE THESE PEANUT BUTTER WINKIES?" Tammy bellowed.

"Hey, those are mine!" Private said, "Please mind your business."

"Oh I did, I went in a tree-"

"Who sent you to the military?" Skipper asked.

"I don't know." Tammy shrugged. She was still vibrating and giggling. "All I know is that I came from a zoo and then I was taken away and lost on the way then these penguins came to me then I was there then I was here."

"Okay did anyone understand that?" Skipper asked, "Hey, you okay?" He asked Nora who just twitched.

"Fine." She said, "Do you have a bathroom?"

"Yeah, Rico show her the bathroom."

Rico nodded and led her to a bathroom.

"I wonder what happened." Private said worriedly.

Rico came back and whispered something into Skipper's ear hole.

"She's what?" he said.

"Is she okay?" Private asked in a concerned tone.

Skipper turned to the younger penguin, "Rico said that Nora looked like she was going to be sick. The girl also shuddered and closed the door rather awkwardly."

"Freak." Dan mumbled.

"Don't call her that." Skipper snapped. "All of you up top. Nora, when you're done we're going up top!" he shouted.

She yelled something back. Skipper took that as an 'okay' and led the others up the ladder. Alice came by and tossed food into the habitat.

"Huh?" She said, pulling out a walkie-talkie, "Hey, when did we get new penguins? I thought they weren't supposed to come until July?"

"You didn't get the e-mail?" A man's voice came out of the speaker, "A lady named Sarah said that she wanted to see how her four penguins got along with ours for a while. And the official transfers' arrivals have been moved back three months."

"Yeah, whatever." Alice said, looking at Private who gave her an innocent expression.

"We can get a little training before the zoo opens." Kowalski told the leader. Skipper nodded, watching Alice leave.

"So we **are** in a zoo." Tammy said, awestruck.

"Ignore her." Dan said.

"Probably the only helpful thing you'll ever say." Skipper said.

"Stuff it, geezer."

Skipper was stock still. Kowalski, Rico, and Private stood back as if a bomb was about to go off and even though Rico loved bombs, he could tell that Skipper's temper wasn't to be tested. Charlie, sensing trouble, hid behind Kowalski. Tammy was completely oblivious to her surroundings.

Skipper's brow narrowed. He inhaled sharply and walked stiffly over to Dan.

"GET THE HECK OUT OF MY ZOO!" He bellowed furiously. "I HAVE HAD IT WITH YOU!"

Dan's eyes widened, he was silent with shock.

"I hope that scared the skeleton out of you." Skipper snarled.

"Skeleton, sir?" Nora asked, climbing out of the hatch.

"Swear words are not allowed in this unit. At least not around Private or young cadets such as yourselves."

"I'm twenty-four." Nora said. "And you?"

"Classified."

"Wait, are you really kicking me out?" Dan asked warily.

Skipper looked around at his team. Private shook his head, Rico's expression was indifferent. Kowalski stared furiously at Dan.

"I should…but I won't."

Dan sighed.

"Don't get comfortable," Skipper snapped, "Your training begins now and I'm not going easy on you."

"Sippy!" A voice squealed. Maya peeked through the bars of the surrounding cage.

"Aww, she's so cute!" Charlie and Tammy squealed.

"Thanks." Josie said, scooping Maya up. "Who are your guests?"

"Our new recruits: Dan, Nora, Charlie and Tammy." Kowalski said. "We need zero Julien interference." He added, spotting King Julien bounding over.

"I'll try." Josie said. "Julien, back to the habitat, the zoo opens in two hours." She said, pulling Julien with her. "And we have to plan the wedding."

"Wedding?" Nora asked.

"Wedding?" Tammy squealed, "Will there be cake? I love cake! And presents for the happy couple. That baby is cute! Can I have a baby? What's your favorite food? How many days are there in a year? Why am I asking these questions? Question, question, question."

Skipper scratched his head and drew a breath, "Yes, no, no, fish, 365, and beats me." He responded.

Skipper then showed the recruits some training moves and set the other three the task of teaching the others while he watched.

Dan was watching Rico but he was moving as if he had to go to the bathroom. Then he gave up and sulked near the fish bowl.

Nora was copying Kowalski and Rico's every moves perfectly, her eyes switched between the two but mostly followed Kowalski.

Charlie and Tammy were copying Private who was doing a more simplified version. Tammy kept being distracted and Skipper continued to fake cough to get her to concentrate. Charlie nervously tried to do everything that Private was doing but he kept making mistakes. It would have been fine if he didn't keep dissolving into tears every time he fell or tripped or did something wrong.

Then the zoo gates opened and a flood of visitors came in.

Dan put up his flippers defensively; Charlie squeaked and hid behind Private; Tammy gasped excitedly and waved vigorously to the people; and Nora simply blinked and stared at Skipper questioningly.

"No one told you what a zoo was?" Private asked. Rico laughed as Nora shook her head.

"Just smile and wave." Skipper said.

"And commence adorable high-jinx." Kowalski added. "Like that." He said, pointing at Tammy who just fell on her butt and sniffed her feet.

"Then they throw fish." Private said.

"Yum!" Rico finished.

The others nodded.

Skipper had told Marlene the previous night about the new recruits coming. She didn't want to interrupt the introductions of the team.

She looked over, noticing that Rocky wasn't there.

Skipper saw Marlene and shook his head, pointing to his recruits. Marlene smiled and nodded.

Nora was doing relatively well, until a boy asked if Nora was going to be a mommy penguin. She had jumped on top of his head and screamed in his face. Although he wasn't harmed, the boy was scared and ran into a wall.

"Get back here." Skipper ordered. "Tammy what are you doing?"

The smallest one was trying to bite Rico's head.

"Charlie!" Skipper yelled.

Charlie had been hit in the head with a fish and looked around nervously. What happened next, no one liked to talk about.

"Ew." Dan said.

Rico was still panicking and jumped into the water to escape Tammy. Tammy giggled and followed him.

Dan made gross faces at a couple of five year olds who cried and ran to their mothers, carrying the fish with them.

"Dan!" Private scolded, "You're supposed to be adorable not abominable."

Skipper massaged the sides of his head with his flippers. He tried hard not to scream in frustration.

When the clock struck 5:00 Alice shooed the visitors out of the zoo and Skipper sighed.

Rico finally managed to shake Tammy off and hacked up a mop to clean the ground from Charlie's mess.

"Kowalski, tell me it's been three months already." Skipper groaned.

"Sorry Skipper, eleven hours." Kowalski replied sadly.

Skipper groaned loudly again.

"Tough day?" Marlene asked, hopping over the gate and landing next to Skipper.

"You have no idea, sister." He replied.

"Speaking of sister."

"She had a mission that came up."

"These are our impossible cadets."

"Hey, I resent that comment." Nora said.

"Hey, I don't care." Skipper said.

"Skipper, don't be mean." Marlene said.

Skipper didn't reply, he looked towards the sunset feeling like he'd missed something important. No, he was missing something…he missed Rocky. _How could I let her go again? I feel like...Kowalski was right, you can't truly let go of the ones you love. And I hate when Kowalski's right. Maybe it's time to forgi-_

BOOM!

Skipper snapped out of it and looked at the black spot on the ground which was still smoking.

"What the deuce?"

"Rico regurgitated a stick of dynamite to threaten the recruits." Marlene said. "You've been daydreaming for the last five minutes."

"Five minutes?" Skipper said. "This does not wash."

"Wash?" Nora asked, coughing.

"Never mind, get down to the HQ. I need someone on recon tonight." Skipper said. "And I choose Rico." He said, narrowing his eyes. "And Dan. After dinner, you go on recon. Private, stay with the cadets while I go to the meeting with Rico and Kowalski."

Rico, Skipper, and Kowalski briefed the other animals on the transfer situation and told them not to disturb the cadets.

The meeting was wrapping up when Charlie, panting, came running into the shop.

"Private…he…faint…help…" Charlie gasped for breath.

The penguins ran back to the habitat.

Private was laying on the floor and Nora had put a pillow under him and was fanning him while Tammy asked her a million questions.

"He said he felt hot." She informed them. "We were going to eat, but he ate the fish and fainted so I told the others not to touch it."

"The fish?" Skipper asked.

"That fish!" she said, pointing to Kowalski who spit it out immediately. "It's all tainted."

Kowalski rubbed his beak, "Hmm…I'll take this in my lab for better research."

"Alright. Rico, let's get Private to a bunk."

Rico and Skipper carried Private and put him in the lowest bunk.

Dan was laying on his bunk that Skipper had made. He seemed indifferent.

"A member of the team has just collapsed and you do nothing?" Skipper growled.

"Yup."

"Go do recon, you get no dinner tonight."

Rico finished the last of the sushi from the other night and took Dan out to do recon.

Kowalski came out and poured something down Private's throat. Private subconsciously drank it.

"It was a dose of anesthesia-like liquid that was poured on the fish." Kowalski reported.

"So he was contaminated with some sort of knock-out fish paste?" Skipper asked.

"Yes. But the ultimate question is not how, it's who." Kowalski said. "Alice could have accidentally given us contaminated fish. Or it could be sabotage."

"By who? And when could it have happened?"

"When three of us were gone, and Private was left with the recruits." Kowalski said. "I am pretty sure that Private would hear someone come in. So the saboteur had to be someone here."

"Or maybe it's a dumb accident." Skipper said. "Maybe you left a knockout gas or something in a bottle of hot sauce and someone might have thought it was delicious."

"Don't be silly, the sleeping gas is in the grape jelly" Kowalski said, "And no one used it. I don't have knockout gas."

"I don't think any of us would hurt each other here." Charlie said softly, he was lying in his bed staring at them. Kowalski and Skipper turned to him. "None of us recruits would dare hurt a senior officer. Not even Dan would be as stupid as to try to harm you with anything more than weak insult and-" he stopped when he realized they were staring at him. Charlie blushed and pulled his blanket over his head.

"Has he ever spoken that much before?" Kowalski asked Nora.

"No." She responded. "He normally rarely, if ever, speaks unless spoken to."

A muffled cry came from outside at that moment. Skipper, Kowalski, and Nora zipped out to see Dan dragging Rico's unconscious body.

"What happened?" Nora asked.

"We were attacked." Dan said."These guys in black came out of nowhere and attacked him. But they didn't touch me for some reason. They pushed me aside and headed for Rico."

Rico had a lump on his head and looked like he'd been in a knife fight. There were bleeding cuts on his body and stray feathers falling down. Kowalski and Skipper heaved Rico down and managed to get him in a bunk. Dan tried and failed to look like he cared, luckily, he was ignored. Tammy looked concerned and started asking a bunch of questions. Charlie was doing as Nora instructed and bringing ointment for Rico and wet towels for Private.

"This is not an accident." Skipper said, "Someone is trying to get rid of my team."

**A/N: And that's the end of this chapter! Please review, my lovely watchers. And tell me, who do you think is causing all of this. Is it the recruits? Blowhole? Nat? Or a new evil?**

**How many of you would like to see Nat back again?**


	16. The Zander effect

It was two weeks later and everyone was settling down again. Private and Rico were well and forgetting about what had happened. The four penguins continued to teach their recruits as usual with a small air of suspicion.

Skipper, however, was not as keen on letting this go as the others were. He remained fully paranoid and kept a close eye on the team, the recruits, and the zoo surroundings.

The recruits were slowly improving from their first days. Charlie had had about seven breakdowns in the past week alone which was, as Nora said, highly unusual but good. Dan was wary of Rico and possessed a small amount of fear for the psychotic penguin as well as the leader. Nora was becoming more skilled and almost surpassed Kowalski. Tammy remained, for the most part, the same as the first day she arrived. She learned a lot, but had the same amount of hyperactivity and loudness as she always had.

Kowalski had installed locks in his lab after Tammy snuck in there on the fifth day and damaged at least three of his inventions and broke ten test tubes. He expressed to Skipper that he couldn't wait until this was over.

Private had found a friend in Charlie and didn't want him to go.

None of the penguins wanted Dan there. Dan was rude and obnoxious. Whenever Kowalski or Private would tell him to do something, he would simply ignore them or insult them. Kowalski would get angry and walk away, but Private was more sensitive. Private tried being nice, but Dan pushed him back. Private became fed up one day and yelled at Dan who punched him.

Skipper almost sent Dan back that day.

Julien had not been disruptive as he usually was, though that was probably due to Josie.

"GET YOUR BUTTS IN GEAR!" Skipper bellowed to the sleeping penguins.

His team, Nora, Tammy, and Charlie woke up immediately. The team stood by Skipper. Nora and Charlie stood in front of Skipper and saluted. Tammy stumbled and jumped up to her feet. Dan rolled over, covering his ear holes.

"It's too early." He groaned.

"Cadets, up top with Rico and Private. Commence training without me."

The five of them nodded and left the HQ.

"Dan, get up now!" Skipper ordered. "Kowalski, check for messages from the base."

Kowalski nodded and went to the radio-monitor device that he had built.

"I don't want to." Dan groaned again.

"It's not your choice." Skipper said. "Get up, or I'll make Rico do it. Rico's way."

Dan flipped over and stared at Skipper whose hard expression remained unchanged.

"Fine." Dan muttered, getting up and heading out of the fish bowl entrance.

"No messages sir, but you're getting a call now." Kowalski said, "Putting it on the television."

The television flickered on and a female penguin appeared. She had streaks of gray feathers on her.

Skipper and Kowalski automatically saluted.

"General Kent." Skipper said, "To what do I owe this pleasure? The rest of my team is training with the recruits."

"That's fine." She said, smiling. "How are your new cadets doing?"

"Nora is doing exceedingly well." Kowalski responded, "Charlie seems to also be progressing greatly; Tammy is…er…hard to figure out, but we're teaching her something and it seems to work. Dan learns but his attitude remains terrible. Also, we were attacked two weeks ago. Someone knocked out Private and beat Rico into unconsciousness."

"I see." Kent said with a frown. "It's been quiet for the others, but I wouldn't put my guard down. My bet is that whoever did it was scared off for now, but they want something. Something valuable. You two are the most valuable. Skipper knows much about the martial arts and has much information regarding our entire operation. Kowalski has brains and your inventions and skills are desired among many."

"Sarah, is there something you're avoiding?" Skipper asked.

She tapped her desk, "Alright, I'll tell you." she said, "I found out that you're having a visitor of higher rank inspecting you. I did not authorize this, but he's already on his way. I'll mount an investigation when he returns."

"Cool, I get to see Johnny again." Kowalski said.

"Yeah, about that…" Sarah said.

"No. Nononono!" Skipper shook his head, "You cannot be serious!"

"I was going to send Bone in a few days, but Zander volunteered and headed out immediately without approval."

Skipper groaned and turned away from the monitor.

Kowalski looked up, he heard Rico shouting. "Thank you, but I'm afraid we have to go." He said. "Have a good day."

Sarah nodded and the television went blank.

"When you're ready, we'll be waiting." Kowalski said, passing Skipper.

"_Come on you slimy worms!"_ a voice echoed in his head. _"My brother can do better than this and he doesn't even exist!"_

It was a voice he'd been hoping never to hear again, the one who made his life miserable every minute of every day back in the academy.

Ryan Zander.

A name feared by all cadets under his tutelage. A name feared by all who knew him. Whenever the name was mentioned, a cold feeling swept over penguins and it wasn't the Antarctic weather.

**FLASHBACK (Antarctic Base: sixteen years previously.)**

"_Keep up Lenny!" Skipper called, "Dennis, keep going!"_

_The penguins were running laps._

"_Please…please wait…" Johnson panted. "Feeling…faint." He stumbled and fell._

_Skipper and Manfredi stopped, and then they both ran to Johnson._

"_Y-you okay…Len?" Manfredi asked, trying to catch his breath._

"_GET UP, MAGGOT!" Zander bellowed, "I don't pay you to lollygag! And you two, get going!"_

"_You don't pay us at all!" Manfredi shot back._

_Zander threw a rock at him. Manfredi fell to the ground, rubbing his head._

"_I don't think you're allowed to do that." Johnson said._

"_SHUT UP AND MOVE IT!" Zander yelled, "YOU MAGGOTS ARE PATHETIC EXCUSES FOR SOLDIERS!"_

"_We're trying!" Skipper snapped, "And in case you haven't noticed, all you've done is shout at us!"_

_Zander marched over to Skipper. "Boy, I swear I will make every day of your life miserable." He raised a flipper to hit Skipper, but the younger penguin wasn't having any of that._

_Skipper punched Zander and ran; he didn't stop running until he crashed into a female penguin._

"_Skipper, what's wrong?" She asked._

"_Sarah, he's gone crazy."Skipper said. "He threw a rock at a cadet, I think his name's Lenny."_

"_I'll talk to him, that's just the way he is."Sarah said._

"_Maggot!" Zander roared, turning the corner._

_Skipper jumped and hid behind Sarah._

"_Oh, General Kent." Zander said, "What brings you here?"_

"_I work here. Better question, are you traumatizing my soldiers?" She asked._

"_That would be a yes." Johnny Bone's voice came from behind. "I told him he should try my program, anyway, I'll be teaching you. How would you like your first mission in Brazil?" He asked Skipper._

"_Really?" Skipper asked._

"_This child is not ready for the real world." Zander scoffed._

"_I'm twelve, not a child." Skipper growled._

"_You dare talk to your comman-"_

"_Enough." Sarah said coolly. "Go dismiss your cadets. Skipper, your sister is waiting for you."_

_Skipper zoomed out of the room._

**BACK TO THE PRESENT**

Skipper shook his head, "That mission went successfully." He muttered to himself before joining the other penguins up top.

"Okay, I got good news and bad news." Skipper announced, "Which do you want first?"

"Bad." Nora said automatically. "Then you can cheer us up with the good, sir."

"Bad news…" Skipper drew a deep breath, "We're having a surprise inspection and I don't know when he's coming."

"I believe that would fit into the neutral category." Nora said, raising an eyebrow.

"The bad part is that…well…Zander's doing it."

"WHAT?!" The cadets, Rico, and Private shouted in horror.

Even Tammy seemed shocked by this news. "He was mean to me at summer camp."

"I told you, it wasn't summer camp, it was military camp." Charlie said. "And he's awful!"

"That would explain why there weren't any arts and crafts." Tammy said thoughtfully.

"Point is," Dan said, "He's a jerk and I'd rather be chainsawed by Rico."

"That's not a word." Kowalski said.

"He's the reason for Charlie's insecurities and Dan's stubbornness." Nora said, earning an offended look from Dan. "It's true, get over it."

"Sarah's gone bonkers!" Private said, and then he immediately covered his beak.

"It's okay; I thought she was crazy too." Skipper said. "Ryan Zander." He muttered, causing everyone to shudder.

"What's wrong?" A voice came from behind.

"Hi Josie." Private said glumly.

"Aww pumpkin, did Skipper take away your Winkies?" Josie asked sympathetically.

"No," Kowalski said, "An old…associate…from Antarctica is coming to visit."

"He made every day a horrible experience." Dan said, "Wait a minute, why am I telling you? This is classified information."

"Then don't give me details, I just came to give you this." Josie held out a paper. "It's for mine and Julien's wedding."

"Pass." Skipper said.

"Nuh-uh honey, you don't pass." Josie said, "I can move it until what's his name leaves."

"Zander." Skipper said, "And sure, why not?"

"Yay." Josie said, "See you all later!"

The penguins worked on training moves to impress the Commander when he came. However, the day passed normally with no sign of Zander. They cleaned the HQ that night and the next morning woke to a loud banging on top of their habitat.

The team jumped out of bed and gathered the cadets, and then all eight of them burst out to find a penguin holding a stopwatch.

The penguin had an air of coldness around him. He looked mean and hard.

"Too slow." He barked in a deep voice. "I could have snuck in, done away with all of you and been on my merry way in a matter of seconds. What's the matter? Forgot your manners?" he stared at the group in front of him.

Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, Nora, and Dan were scowling at Zander. Private was trying to hide behind Rico and Charlie was seeking refuge behind Nora. Tammy slid behind Rico. Then they all saluted rather awkwardly.

"If this was a test, you'd have all failed." Zander said.

"What are you talking about?" Skipper snapped.

"Who said you could talk to your commanding officer like that?" Zander said. He stalked over to Skipper and slapped him. "You may be a Commander, but I'm still your superior. Watch your tongue."

"No." Skipper said. "Get out of my habitat. Get out of my zoo, GET OUT OF MY CITY!" He screamed, poking the older penguin.

Zander punched Skipper into the water. Skipper propelled himself up and shot out like a cork, landing right back in front of Zander, panting.

Zander chuckled harshly. "Show me what you've been teaching these maggots."

Skipper held himself this time. He motioned to his shaken team and they demonstrated a complex training routine.

"STOP!" He said in the middle of the demonstration. "What are you ballerinas doing?" he growled, "I've seen better things from starfish."

"Oh, what kind of things?" Tammy said.

"SHUT UP!" He barked, "You were terrible." He told her. "And you," he pointed to the trembling Charlie, "I wanted to puke in your performance." He turned to Dan and Nora, "Girl, you're moving like you have a load in your pants." An offended look shot across her face, "And Boy, you're just plain stupid." Then he turned to the team. "You are the WORST teachers ever!"

Kowalski scowled; Rico looked murderous; Skipper was furious; and Private was close to tears.

"That's a low blow." Kowalski blurted out, "We've been practicing nonstop."

"Who gave you permission to speak?" Zander said, narrowing his eyes at the tall one.

He stared at Kowalski and raised a flipper. Kowalski's pupils contracted in fear. Skipper, luckily, skidded across and stood between Zander and Kowalski.

"You may harm me, but my team will remain untouched." Skipper growled, "Same goes for the cadets. They've been placed in my leadership, let me do what I have to and stay out of my business. I'm the leader here, not you."

Zander looked furious. "Listen here," he breathed, "You are in no position to tell me off. And if you're such a great leader, why does your team not know when to hold their tongues? Maybe you shouldn't be leader."

The other penguins gasped.

If Skipper was seething with anger, he was doing a good job of hiding it. "I am in such a position. I'm a commander as well as you are. I don't care what you think and I've made that clear for fifteen years." He said calmly as if they were discussing the weather.

"Gipy." A tiny voice squeaked.

Zander whipped around to see a baby lemur. He approached her and held her up by the tail. "What is this supposed to be?" He growled with an unpleasant expression on his face.

"Makyhira, Maya Makyhira." Julien said brightly, "And I was playing tag with her…anyway, thank you fishy smelling penguin." He held his hands out for the baby.

Zander glared back at Skipper. "You let THIS into your habitat." He scoffed, tossing Maya carelessly.

"Hey!" Julien said, catching the baby with a grunt. "Princesses are not to be thrown, they are seated on a throne. Oh wait, is this one of your top secrety mission thingies?"

"WHAT?!" Zander said, "This civilan KNOWS your identity?!"

"Hey bub, that's ROYAL civilian to you." Julien said. "And yeah, That's Skipper the bossy one who is my frenemy; The tall one is Kowalski aka smarty booty; the Mohawk one is Rico the awesome vomity chainsaw and Kaboom guy; and the smallest one is Private the private who is adorable but not as adorable as the King."

Maya squealed loudly.

"There is the exception of the princess and my lovely Josie who are just above me in cuteness. And I have no idea who the hecks these guys are." He pointed to the cadets.

Maya smiled, not that she really understood.

"Bub? BUB?!" Zander looked ready to murder Julien.

"Uh-oh…"

Skipper slid in between the two. "Ringtail get out of here now!" Skipper hissed.

"No need to be telling me twice." Julien yelped, running away. "And don't tell the king what to do!" he shouted back.

"Well that was cl-AH!"

Zander jumped on Skipper and pinned him to the ground with a flipper on his throat. Zander had a wild look in his eyes as he pushed on the younger Commander. The other penguins yelled and screamed but it was a mess of sound and no one was heard clearly.

"Zan…der..." Skipper choked.

"GET OFF HIM!"

If he hadn't witnessed it, Kowalski would hardly have believed it came out of Private's beak.

Private sent a kick at Zander who grunted and was pushed off Skipper.

"Thanks…" Skipper gasped, massaging his neck, "But you shouldn't have done that."

"No." Private said, motioning for the others to stay back.

Kowalski understood what was going to happen, "Private, you can't possi-"

"I can do this!" The small one raised his flippers in defense.

Zander walked over to Private, breathing deeply. Private readied himself for a fight.

"You are a weakling." Zander said, "I'm not going to fight you, little insignificant bug. You just got lucky, like you're lucky to be alive. Did dear Skippy tell you the truth of your past? Your dad was a coward and your mother ditched you. Too bad your grandmother and uncle liked you."

"That's not true!" Private said. "You're lying!"

"I may be lying, but so is your mother and I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet."

"What the deuce are you talking about?" Skipper snapped.

"My god man, you really don't know?" Zander said gleefully, all anger abandoned.

"Either explain what you're rambling about, or shut your mouth and leave."

"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you." he said. He turned and slid away.

"YOU DIDN'T!" the eight of them screamed after his retreating back.

"He's bluffing." Skipper said. "He doesn't have any dirt on us."

"Of course not, I took a shower last night." Tammy said.

The others ignored her.

"Was that a commander or a nuclear bomb?" Charlie asked.

"Both." Kowalski replied. "Private, are you okay?"

"I'm going to bed." Private said quickly. He jumped into the hatch before anyone could respond.

"But it's only-" Nora looked at the clock, "-1:30?! How did that take four hours?"

Charlie shrugged. "Um, sir." He said, looking up at Kowalski.

"Now Charlie, we've known each other for almost a month, right." Kowalski said. The younger penguin nodded. "No need to call me 'sir', you can just call me Kowalski or Mr. Kowalski if you like."

"Okay." Charlie mumbled, "I just want to know if I can do recon."

The older penguins were surprised.

"Really? You think you can handle it?" Skipper asked.

Charlie blushed and nodded at his feet.

"Make eye contact when spoken to, soldier."

Charlie looked up at Skipper. "Y-yes sir."

"Alright, I'll take you on recon tonight."

Dan looked around wildly. Music had come on and he was wondering where it was coming from. Then he spotted dancing lemurs.

"Can we go to the party?" Tammy asked.

"I don't see why not." Kowalski said, "We all deserve a break."

After many cries of 'please' and doe eyes, Skipper rolled his eyes and let them go to the party. Private said he wasn't feeling well and stayed in the HQ to watch Lunacorns.

At 7:00 pm, Skipper took Charlie out on recon. He told the other penguins to be back by 11:00 pm at the latest. Private had fallen asleep in his bunk and was left in there.

"Alright," Skipper said once they were on the clock tower. "The first rule is to stay awake. Also, no candy up here or you're going to see skorcas"

"Skorca?"

"You don't want to know."

"Okay."

"You and I are in the same boat kid."

Charlie looked at Skipper quizzically.

"Both of us have seen murder at a young age by the same penguin. Both of us fight with strong determination and the desire to seek revenge."

Charlie's beak moved but no words came out.

"What was that?"

"Is there going to be a war?"

"My hopes are no war, but…there's too much going on…Blowhole has strong soldiers on his side, and stupid ones too."

"Who's Nat?"

"How did you-"

"I heard Kowalski talking in his sleep. He also mentioned something about a saw in Madagascar."

"Sasha?"

"Yep."

"Sasha is an insane, power hungry monster of a lemur. Have you seen Harry Potter?"

"Yes."

"She's Bellatrix times 3."

Charlie shuddered. "Demented."

Skipper laughed.

"And who is Nat?" Charlie asked.

Skipper sighed, "Well she…Nat is…tough…and I suppose she's nice…at times…she's aggressive and protective…Kowalski's best friend…Who IS Nat? I think that's a question she asks herself."

"What happened to her?"

"She's in Hoboken."

"Hobo-who?"

"Hoboken, it's a disease ridden cesspool of a zoo."

"That sounds gross, why didn't she come here?"

Skipper looked towards the partying lemurs. "She did…then she left."

"Kowalski misses her."

"Yeah. She hates Julien though." Skipper said, "Gee, I could have her annoy Ringtail so he stays out of my feathers."

"I think the expression's 'out of my hair'"

"Yeah but I don't have hair."

Charlie nodded.

Skipper looked at the clock, "Nora and the boys better be going to bed."

"Down there." Charlie said, pointing down.

The six penguins were heading into the HQ.

"You should go too." Skipper said, eyeing Charlie's yawn.

"Okay."

"Good night, Charlie."

"Good night Dad." Charlie mumbled sleepily as he slipped down to the ground and joined the others.

A small smile came across Skipper's face. Charlie was alright when he wasn't being pressured. He was actually like Private in many ways. Private looked up to Skipper as a father figure as well.

**SEVERAL WEEKS LATER…**

There were three more weeks left and Skipper was feeling mighty proud. His team and the recruits had grown so much since they first arrived.

Then a familiar smiling penguin rode in on a small penguin-sized jet.

"Seriously?" Skipper asked as the others goggled at the plane.

"Don't be sour, be sweet!"

"What do you want Kent?"

"The General says that based on your reports, your cadets are ready to be dispatched if you want." Byron responded.

"I wish to stay." Nora said. "I learn better with these guys."

"I'm staying too; Maya's almost saying my name!" Charlie said.

"Alright," Byron said "What about you two?" he looked at Dan and Tammy.

"I want to see Jordan!" Tammy said.

Skipper stiffened, he hated mention of his ex-girlfriend and former teammate's sister.

"None of these guys like me and I hate you all." Dan said.

"So you're not staying?" Byron asked.

"Don't be crazy, of course I'm staying," Dan said with a smile, "unless you don't want me for another three weeks." He said to the other penguins.

Rico was indifferent.

Kowalski would tolerate it if his attitude improved.

Private had mixed feelings. He didn't like Dan much, but liked giving others a second chance…or in this case a 23rd chance.

It was all up to Skipper.

He took a deep breath.

"…You can stay."

"Yes!" Dan shouted. "Uh, I mean…that's cool."

"Well Tammy, I guess this is goodbye." Private said, giving her a hug.

"Oh you guys are the bestest ever!" She squealed, giving Private a hug.

Skipper and Kowalski declined hugs and shook her flipper instead.

Rico, however, had no choice.

Tammy squealed and jumped on him, holding him tightly.

"OH RICO! I'LL MISS YOU!" She screamed into his ear hole.

"Cadet Tammy, get off him!" Skipper ordered.

She let go and zipped to Skipper. "Sorry sir!"

Then she followed Byron to the plane and waved to the other penguins.

"So what made you want to stay?" Skipper asked Dan as the plane took off.

"I don't really know."

"It's much quieter without her, huh?" Kowalski said.

"Yeah, but then-" Skipper pointed to the lemur habitat where Maya was squealing and laughing as Julien tickled her.

"You have that." Nora finished for him.

**Later that evening as Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private were finishing a meeting in the zoovenir shop.**

"I mean it Joey! She's a baby and doesn't know any better." Skipper said.

"Alright mate, Joey ain't gonna hurt the baby." The Australian Kangaroo said as he left.

"Too bad we never found out who's causing all of this mess." Kowalski said, "I'd really like to know who knocked out Rico and Private."

"I still think it was Dan. He was alone with Rico that night and he could have slipped something on Private's fish." Skipper said, "I'm keeping him here to watch him, not because I want him to train with us."

Rico shook his head and began jabbering.

"Oh, you witnessed the guys who attacked you. But Dan was avoided in the attack." Kowalski said. "So he could have signaled for backup."

"I still don't like the looks of this." Skipper said.

"Could it be possible that Charlie could have done it or Tammy or Nora?"

"Tammy was watching Lunacorns the whole time." Private said, "And Charlie's so sweet, he wouldn't hurt a fly."

"Sweet could be a cover story. Nora and Dan could be undercover or Charlie." Kowalski said.

"It's not Charlie." Skipper said, "The kid's too…innocent. Why would he join the evil side when that side killed his family in front of him? And there's several witnesses who know Charlie saw that."

That night as the penguins were sleeping, a shadowed figure stood by the HQ.

"I have successfully gained their trust." The penguin spoke into a watch-like communication device.

"Good." Blowhole's voice came from the watch. "Get our target when he's alone."

"That won't be hard, but Skipper-"

"Get rid of him somehow. Get rid of everyone except our intended target. Keep your cover until you have him cornered."

"What if one of the other cadets interferes with my mission?"

"Not my problem, I just want you carry out your plan."

"Yes sir."

"Good." The watch clicked off.

The shadowed figure turned to find Julien standing there.

"You!" He said, "Wait, aren't you-eeehhhh"

He was sprayed with knockout gas and fell to the floor.

The figure bent down and poked Julien who mumbled sleepily.

"When you awaken, this will all seem like a dream." The figure chuckled.

**A/N: Aaaand…scene.**

**Until next chapter, my friends.**

**Please let me know your thoughts.**


	17. Betrayals and discoveries

Alice thought her job couldn't get stranger, and then she almost stepped on a lemur.

"What the-? What are you doing out of your habitat?" She asked him.

"Huh? Where am I?" Julien said groggily, feeling someone moving him. Then he was put back in the habitat."

"Julien!" Josie gasped, "Are you alright?"

"Mommy?"

"No, Josie."

King Julien shook his head, "What happened last night? I remember seeing something and then everything went dark. It looked like a penguin."

Josie patted him on the back, "It was probably a bad dream, sweetie."

"It seemed so real, I'm going to ask the fishy-smelling penguins." He said, racing over to the habitat where the penguins were starting training.

"Alright," Skipper said, spotting the approaching lemur. "Where did you lose Maya now?"

"Nowhere!" Julien said defensively, "I am just wanting to know who tried to snuff de king which is me."

"Not me, king which is you." Dan said with a smile. No one smiled back, but Julien did step back nervously.

"You were ambushed?" Skipper asked.

"Yes, one of you penguins were out at night and then I was gass-ed out."

"Knockout gas?" Kowalski asked. Julien nodded.

"Makes sense." Dan said, "Skipper, your girlfriend is coming."

Skipper scowled, "She's not my-hey Marlene!"

"Hey guys!" Marlene said, coming over to them, "Are we having a block party?"

"No, Julien was knocked out." Skipper said. "Alright, which one of you cadets was out after bed?"

All of them looked extremely confused.

"Charlie fell asleep quickly." Kowalski said.

"If it was me, I would have done it while everyone was sleeping." Dan said.

"We need to mount an investigation." Skipper said. Dan was completely ignored, "Private, take Charlie out for the day."

"Maybe Charlie can go have a play-date." Dan snickered.

"Oh sure, have you ever had snow cones?" Marlene asked.

Charlie's eyes grew wide, "What are snow cones?"

"They are delicious heaven!" Julien said, "I'll bring Maya and Josie, then we can go." He zipped away without another word.

"Sure." Skipper said, eyeing Dan who suddenly looked happy about something. Nora looked at Rico warily.

Private, Charlie, and Marlene followed the lemurs out.

"I'm going to experiment." Kowalski said. "Permission, sir?"

"Permission granted, just don't blow anything up." Skipper said.

"I can't promise that!" Kowalski shouted as he disappeared.

"Okay, Rico and I will now interrogate you now that we've determined that it wasn't Tammy or Charlie."

"What if it's you guys?" Dan said, "And you're blaming us so you can seem all cool catching spies."

SMACK!

Dan groaned, "That hurt!"

"Did it give you an answer?" Skipper said, "I know everything that happens in this unit and who is a prime suspect."

Nora gave a twitch that went unnoticed, "Can I use your bathroom?" She asked.

"No." Skipper responded, "Not until we get to the bottom of this. Your personalities are so diverse from the younger two cadets."

"Our personalities have nothing to do with it!" Nora shouted.

"Yeah, I agree with the bookworm." Dan said.

Nora punched him, "Do NOT call me a bookworm." She snapped.

"Three things happened under my watch and I intend to find out who caused it." Skipper growled.

Rico chuckled psychotically.

"Now we can do this the easy way, the Skipper way, or the Rico way."

"What's the Skipper way?" Dan asked with wide eyes.

"I pound the answers out of you."

"I choose easy." Dan mumbled.

"I really have to go!" Nora said, tapping her webbed feet. "I'll come back."

"Fine, but make it super quick."

She nodded and zipped down the fish bowl entrance.

"Alright, now we- where'd he go?"

Rico gasped, spotting Dan running towards the zoovenir shop.

"I knew it, GET HIM!" Skipper shouted.

Both of them ran after Dan.

Meanwhile, Nora entered Kowalski's lab. He was working and humming to himself. She closed the door quietly and locked it. A small feeling of guilt poked at her, but she ignored it. She was not to have feelings. She'd done it before…remorselessly…she hid a shining object behind her back.

Kowalski turned to find her standing next to him. He gasped and almost dropped a test tube full of green, foul smelling liquid.

"Good golly, you scared me." He said.

She didn't respond, she just stared at him blankly…adrenaline…blood rushing to her ear holes…she could barely hear him.

"Did Skipper send you to make sure I didn't blow anythi- what are you doing?"

She had moved closer to him.

Kowalski backed away nervously, "Uhh, t-this is a little too close."

She moved closer like a predator closing in on its prey…like the former feral side of Marlene…no thought…just action.

"W-what are you doing?"

She reached a flipper out to him. He backed away from it.

"S-skipper will be wondering where you've gone."

She grinned…probably not the best choice…as it gives away things.

"It was you this whole time." Kowalski said, with an odd sensation of foreboding. "You knocked out Private and Julien and called in friends to attack Rico with an order not to hurt Dan. You framed him."

"And I tricked him." She said in a loving whisper, "Your friends are chasing him. I told him there was a videogame that just got delivered."

Kowalski stepped back. He was scared yet he couldn't move…he felt paralyzed.

"What are you going to do with-OW!" She had plucked a feather. Why was that pleasing?

"I'm going to torture you, then I'm going to steal something valuable."

"SKIPPER!" Kowalski screamed.

"He won't come." She said, tilting her head. "You're kinda cute." She pulled out a knife.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" He bellowed, taking quick steps back. But he was too slow.

She pounced on him, knocking the latter onto the floor. She stared at him, her features were less penguin-like. She looked like a penguin monster. She had the knife to his chest. She petted his head and he screamed.

She cut his flipper and watched the blood. Then she licked it. Kowalski struggled to get out, but she had him pinned tightly.

Skipper had heard a muffled scream and the boys ran back to HQ.

"Kowalski?"

"HELP!"

"KOWALSKI!" Skipper pounded on the door, but it was locked.

Rico and Dan came in.

"Rico, dynamite!"

Rico hacked up dynamite and blew the door open.

Nora held Kowalski's beak shut and had his flippers in a tight grip.

"Kowalski, where are you?"

"I see something!" Dan said, pointing to the back.

Rico and Skipper rounded a table to find Nora holding Kowalski with the knife above his heart.

"Don't move." She said.

"Skipper, she licked the knife, she's insane!" Kowalski squeaked.

Rico growled.

"Let him go."

"He is my target and I will take him to the boss." She said, dragging him with her. "Let me go or I will kill him."

BAM! Nora fell over unconscious. Dan was standing behind her with a pan.

"Hey it works in movies and in real life!" He said.

Rico locked Nora in a box while they called the Antarctic Penguin Force to collect her. She banged the box and screamed.

"You know, I thought you were improving." Skipper said, "You were just using us."

She glared at him venomously, "I was merely doing my job. Here, talk to Blowhole."

She threw her watch at him.

It clicked on and revealed Blowhole wearing a pink shower cap in a tub.

"Baby you are my DREAMBOAT!" he sang. "I AM A PRETTY PRINCESS IN THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF-" He stopped, hearing snickering coming from somewhere.

Then he spotted his communicator, "What, what is it?!" he snapped, "I'm in the middle of me-time."

"So doctor deranged," Skipper said, "We caught your little spy."

"WHAT?!"

Skipper showed Blowhole to Nora. "I- uh, it's all part of my genius plan to get revenge on you pen-gyu-ins. And I'll deal with you later." He added to her.

The device turned off and Skipper threw it to the floor and crushed it with his foot.

"Rico, keep Private and the others away from here until she's gone and Dan, go with him." Skipper ordered, "Tell them nothing of what has happened here."

Dan and Rico nodded and left.

"Hey Skipwad, remember the knockout gas?" Nora sneered.

"Yeah, you framed Dan, or tried to frame him, by knocking out Rico and Private."

"Catch you later." She said, pointing to the broken watch which hissed and secreted a gray gas.

"What? I-" Skipper fell on the ground, unconscious.

Nobody quite knows how she made it out of the zoo unscathed and unquestioned. They just know that she fled, far away from New York. No one also knows how she managed to avoid Rico or Dan. She was just lucky.

Charlie and Private were confused. No one would tell them what happened.

Skipper was awakened an hour later. Dan had told the Antarctic Force that Nora escaped. The response was that every agent would be alerted and if she was spotted it was to be directly reported to them.

Kowalski was…in truth…a mess. He couldn't think straight. Memories of his father popped up…the years of torture…but this time there was no Emma or Nat or Izzy to help him…but there was Skipper, Rico, and Private. He was on the floor of his lab…looking like a lost child who'd just seen a murder.

In the weeks that followed, no one saw much of Kowalski. He kept himself locked in his lab. Skipper was still angry that he let the traitor slip away…angry that she'd managed to trick them…and for what she'd done to his soldiers…especially to Kowalski.

Rico just carried on each day, trying to be a good soldier and listen to his leader. Dan had been wary ever since and seemed to have developed a sense of paranoia which Skipper, if he wasn't thinking about a million other things, would have been proud of.

Private and Charlie were as confused as ever. Skipper's goal, it seemed, was to keep the two in the dark about the recent events that occurred. Neither of them knew what happened or where Nora had gone. Charlie accepted the fact that he couldn't ask about her. Private, however, wanted to know more. He took a flashlight and slipped into the records room in the HQ when everyone was asleep.

He found file folders, videos and tape recorders chock full of information. Private thought that the most recent things must be close to the door, so he climbed into a box that had different numbers and letters. He didn't understand this system, but apparently Skipper did. He picked up a tape recorder when something caught his eye in the back corner. It was a box, nearly half hidden, that looked as if it hadn't been touched in years. His flashlight caught something shiny sticking out of it and it seemed to call him.

He put the recorder down, having forgotten what he came for in the first place, and wandered to the back. There were dusty old boxes back there and cobwebs. What caught his eye was a picture. It was of a young female penguin with a male. Both were smiling at the small egg in the female's flippers. Private looked at the back and written in a form that penguins could understand, was 'Andrew, Candace, and baby Andre.' Private looked at the picture again and felt hot tears in his eyes. This was him with his parents…approximately two months before he hatched and about a month and three weeks before his father's death. His parents looked so happy and innocent. His father looked good natured and possibly a bit of a joker; he also had the same shade of blue eyes as his son. His mother…he stared at her, knowing she was alive and safe somewhere…but he missed her too much.

She looked familiar though, but it was impossible that he could have remembered her. He'd only been one day old before being separated from her seventeen years ago. Her head shape looked oddly familiar. It was like his, but a little narrower, and her eyes weren't the same shade of blue as his. He tried to remember who he'd seen before that looked like her, but he couldn't quite place his flipper on-

"Having fun?" A voice asked from behind. Private jumped and spun around.

It was Skipper.


	18. The naive and the loud

The lights flipped on and Private squeaked, his eyes wide with fear. He still clutched the photo behind his back.

Skipper's face was emotionless, "I do believe that you're not allowed in here." His voice was stern sounding.

"I…er…I-it was….I just…er…" Private stuttered; then he sped past Skipper, it was late and he didn't want to fight with his leader.

"Next time, leave the door closed…oh, Private?"

Private stopped. "Yes, Skippa?"

"You should be careful with that curiosity of yours; it can land you in rather sticky spots."

Private nodded and sped to his bunk, the photo clutched tight in his flipper.

_Should I have told him? _Skipper thought_. Should I have voiced my suspicions earlier…to both of them? He could have a brother…they could be brothers…and I…I wouldn't know it. Should I mount an investigation? Of course the others would have to know…this could be the biggest discovery…yet what if it was all a fluke…a lie…a wild guess in the dark that lead to nowhere…either way, they're going to hate me for not saying something earlier…I should have known when Private joined the team…now he has the picture…and if the other sees…oh god, I'm in trouble._

"Skipper?" Kowalski's voice echoed. It sounded scared. "SKIPPER?!"

Skipper snapped back and rushed to the scene to find Kowalski in his bunk with his eyes shut; yet he was writhing around and panting. Rico, Private, Dan, and Charlie were awake and in their beds.

"Help…no…Skipper will come…Skipper help me…HELP ME SKIPPER!"

"Kowalski, wake up!" Skipper said.

Kowalski's eyes shot open, he turned to face Skipper. "They're working together…to kill me…it wasn't my fault…" And with that he vomited over the side of the bunk.

The others yelped; Rico shrank into his bunk to avoid being hit by the vomit.

Rico regurgitated a mop and began cleaning the mess while Kowalski ran into his lab.

Charlie, Private, and Dan fell asleep after Rico was finished cleaning.

Skipper and Rico made eye contact.

"Thanks Rico, you can go back to bed." Skipper said. "I'm going to check on Kowalski."

The leader headed into the lab to find the tall penguin sitting at a table with his head in his flippers.

"What happened back there?" Skipper asked, "Well, you know, other than the obvious."

"She killed my mother…" Kowalski said hoarsely, "…well I think it was my mother…but I saw a penguin being brutally murdered by that…demon…and my mother…she was screaming my name…"

"Well, you've been traumatized," Skipper said in a concerned tone, "It's only natural to experience these kinds of nightmares."

"You don't understand…"

"Try me."

"I liked it."

"Your mother being murdered?"

"Heck no! I meant…her presence…I wanted to join her…but…I heard a voice in my head…It was my mom…she kept me sane…Skipper, what's happening to me?" He had tears in his eyes.

"You're at your weakest when asleep." Skipper said, "Not just you, but many animals and people are. The thing is…you can completely defy your dreams. When I was younger, I often dreamed that I would be killed before I could set foot in a military base."

"Obviously that didn't happen."

"No, but I didn't spend every minute obsessing on the thought. I kept my head up and went about my business." He drew a breath. "Now, that doesn't mean that I want you to forget everything that happened. I just don't want you to obsess on it. I want you to try to release your fears and be the same old science geek you were before, it just takes time."

Kowalski nodded. "Why does this happen to me?"

"It could have happened to any one of us."

"Not you."

"Especially me, I'm the leader and therefore am the prime target for important info. And I don't think you remember but I know more than you think I do." He said grimly and headed to the door.

"Sir?"

"Invisibility ray, Kowalski?" Skipper said, looking back at him with his brow raised.

Kowalski muttered something and shifted his feet in embarrassment.

"What was that?"

"Er…when did you find out?"

"The moment you started panicking. I just didn't want to pin the blame on you right away."

"Yeah, um…about that…"

"Forget it, it was months ago."

"Technically speaking, it was a little more than a year ago."

Skipper smiled and exited.

Rico was still awake, staring blankly up at the hatch. Then, subconsciously, he quickly put his flippers up in defense. He had sensed an object moving close to him. He closed his eyes and waited.

His sense of hearing heightened and he heard a soft tap. He spun around and chopped, his flipper colliding with another flipper. His eyes opened to find Skipper standing there with a pleased expression.

"I have taught you well, soldier."

Rico put down his flippers, but all the same kept an air of suspicion.

Skipper smiled, "Relax, I was testing you. What are you doing out of bed?"

"Family." Rico muttered.

"Are you going soft on me?"

Rico hacked a flamethrower and pointed it at Skipper with an expression of fury.

Skipper stared at it emotionlessly. "And you really thought that would scare me?"

Rico looked embarrassed. "No."

"I was joking," Skipper said, "A nice family reunion…hmm…I'll have to think about that. Maybe we could all go to Antarctica or something."

Rico yawned.

"But first things first, go to bed."

Rico nodded and went to his bed. Skipper climbed in his own bed and fell asleep almost immediately.

***One week later***

"Say Mommy."

"Malee?"

"No, Mommy."

"Daddy?"

"No, Mommy, the one who painfully gave birth to you."

Maya stared at her mother in confusion. The lemurs had been trying ever since the 'Littlefoot' incident to get Maya to say 'mommy', but the only new words she learned were 'pengy' (Private/Penguin), 'Kippy' (Skipper), 'Wally' (Kowalski), 'eco' (Rico), 'Ema' (Lemur), 'Mowie' (Used for both Maurice and Mort), and 'mayo' (Mango). She still remembered her old words: 'Malee' (Marlene), 'Dada/Daddy', 'Gaba ee' (gotta pee), and 'Cwabye' (Which Josie later found out meant 'classified').

"Josie, I'm sure you just have to give her time." Maurice said, "She's actually saying a lot of words for her age. Lemurs typically start talking at two months, she started at one month."

"She's a month and a half old, Maurice." Josie said, "What if she forgets me?"

"Josie, she's not likely to forget you in the next five seconds, I doubt she'll forget you. Anyway, why are you worried? You'll be raising her."

"You're right; I just don't want her to fall behind in speech."

"She'll be fine."

Josie sighed, "I-"

"Just want the best for her." Maurice finished, "She'll be alright. Now if you'll excuse me, the King is expecting his smoothie."

Josie nodded and sat down next to Maya while Maurice tended to Julien.

"Hello, Mort." Josie said, spying the small lemur out of the corner of her eye.

"Hello Miss Queen Josie." Mort squeaked.

"What are you up to?"

"Nothing."

"Mort, I want to ask you something and I expect you to tell the truth."

"Um, okay."

"Do you have a problem with Maya?"

Mort looked down sadly, "I don't like baby."

"Why not?"

"She gets to cuddle the feet."

Josie cringed, she hadn't said a word but she, like everyone else in the zoo, thought that Mort's foot obsession was just weird. "Right." She said, "Hey, ever think there's more to life than feet?"

"Huh?"

"Think about it Mort, you're only six years younger than Private, you should be moving on from the childish things."

"Moving on? What does that mean?"

"It means that you have to start letting go of the feet. I don't want you to get a false sense of security from Julien's feet."

"So, your feet?"

"No." Josie said firmly, trying not to sound frustrated. "No feet, at all."

"I don't think that will work."

Josie jumped.

Skipper chuckled, "Sorry, just checking up on everybody." He looked at Maya, then at Mort. "Sad-Eyes here is foot obsessed because Julien accidentally slammed him into a tree as a baby. Escaping that evil Sasha we told you about. I don't think we gave you details at the time."

"Of course not, I was giving birth!"

"I know, I've been through the same thing."

"What?!"

"Yup, one of my missions before Kowalski officially joined the team. It was me, Manfredi, Jordan, a gray wolf and three painful hours in the cold outreaches of Norway."

"I do not want to know." Josie said.

"Suit yourself; you're missing a great story."

"Who's Jordan?" Josie asked.

Skipper blushed, "I…er…nobody. I have to go." He said the last part quickly and fled.

Josie laughed and looked down at Maya, "And you're going to grow up with him in the zoo."

Maya squealed and bit her tail, and then she realized it wasn't so funny.

"OWIEEEE!" She cried.

"Oh, baby," Josie soothed, cradling the baby in her arms, "it's not food."

_Whew, that was close. _Skipper thought. _Where am I?_

"Hi Skipper!"

Skipper karate chopped the air before he remembered where he was.

Marlene scooted back.

"Marlene, what are you doing here?"

"I live here." She said simply, smiling at Skipper. "So, what's new in the penguin habitat?" She asked, handing him a cup of water.

"Thanks." Skipper said, taking a sip. "Well, Private's trying to convince Sarah to let Charlie stay more than a week; our new residents have been delayed; Rico's taking care of some unfinished business; and Kowalski's still a wreck."

"Okay, it frightens me when you say that Rico, the psychotic one, has some 'unfinished business' to attend to; and what about Dan?'"

"He's practicing a few moves before heading off."

"Dan and Charlie are leaving?"

"Dan's been invited to join Byron's team, he starts in a few days and he's leaving tomorrow morning. Charlie's going to be trained personally by Johnny Bone."

"Bone?" Marlene said, "I think I only caught a glimpse of him when Josie was having the baby."

"Yeah."

"He was the one flying the plane, right?"

"Yup."

"He seems nice."

"He is."

"And hot."

Skipper coughed, water spraying out of his mouth, "W-what?" he spluttered. "You think he's…hot?"

Marlene stifled a giggle, "Well, I-"

"It's okay," Skipper said somewhat dejectedly, "All the girls say that when they meet him."

"He's not that hot, you know, compared to y-other penguins." Marlene blushed.

"Like who?" Skipper asked.

"Uhh…you know, I don't know many other penguins besides you and your team." Marlene shifted uncomfortably.

Skipper didn't respond, both of them avoided eye contact.

"It's not like I like you." Marlene said, "I mean I like you, but I don't."

"What?" Skipper asked, "I don't understand girl talk, Marlene."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Marlene said.

"Girls are a mystery, they never say anything understandable." Skipper said, shaking his head.

Marlene growled angrily, "Then I don't understand why you bother to hang out with me."

"Fine." Skipper said, placing the cup down.

"Fine!" Marlene snapped.

"Well good, maybe I don't want to hang out with you!" Skipper snapped back.

"Good, then you can leave!" Marlene shouted.

"Maybe I wanted to leave!" Skipper said furiously.

"THEN GO!" Marlene screamed.

"I WILL!" Skipper bellowed, jumping out of the habitat and zipping down into the HQ.

Marlene dove into the water around her habitat, it was cool and calming. She finally calmed down enough to realize that she just had a fight with Skipper. And that both of them were too stubborn to admit they were wrong.

Skipper had sped into the HQ and told everyone that he wasn't to be bothered. He didn't even know what that had been about, why had Marlene screamed at him? _Girls really are a mystery_. He thought.

Charlie decided to go up top and train with Dan, which left Private and Skipper alone. Private knew that he wasn't supposed to approach, but he couldn't help feeling worried for his leader.

"Uh, Skippa?" Private said, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You seemed rather upset…"

"Private, I am alright."

"But-"

"I SAID I'M OKAY!" Skipper snapped.

Private whimpered and slowly backed away before running into Kowalski's lab. Kowalski, at the moment, was taking a nice long uninterrupted bath.

"Oh wow…" Private breathed.

Kowalski's lab was full of beakers and tubes that bubbled and let out different colored steam. There were also old experiments and new, as well as papers that looked like blueprints. Private's curiosity got the better of him and he decided to explore the invention box.

He came across a fun looking water gun. He pretended to shoot it until…

ZAP!

The beam of light was blue and ricocheted around the room until it smashed into a beaker; the beaker exploded in a shower of glass and orange liquid. The orange stuff inside landed on Private.

"AHH! IT BURNS!" Private screamed, his whole body felt as if it was on fire.

Skipper burst into the room, "Private, what's going on?" He asked. Then he froze in horror, and then it turned to fury. "Who are you and what have you done to Private?"

"But I am Private!" Private squeaked, tears springing to his eyes, "Please believe me! I'm Private, I swear!"

"Well, you don't look like Private."

"What are you talk-" Private gasped, spotting himself in the mirror. He rushed to it and stared at his reflection…or what he thought was his reflection.

Staring back at Private, with the same scared expression, was a pink blob covered in red boils. It looked only vaguely like a penguin.

"KOWALSKI!" Skipper yelled. There was a muffled reply from the bathroom. "It's an emergency!"

There was a thud, then a scrape of a lock and pattering feet; then Kowalski panted into view. He looked up and yelped. Private started crying.

"Private?" Kowalski said, "What happened to you?"

"I-I…I JUST WANTED TO HELP!" He wailed.

"Whoa, calm down soldier." Skipper said, "Why were you in the lab?"

"In the - IN THE LAB?!" Kowalski ran into his lab. The other two heard frantic scrabbling and mutters. "No…not that…" He came back out with a nervous expression.

"Aw, ham steak…" Skipper groaned, "What's the damage?"

"Private should be fine in a few days." Kowalski said. "But what was in the beaker…will have to be started again from scratch."

"What happened to Private? What was that stuff?" Skipper asked.

"It was a mixture, not ready obviously, but it was in the beginning stage." Kowalski said, "Private will be alright, I already confirmed that it wears off. It was supposed to be something that lets you change into whatever living thing you want. If I drank it, I could turn into you or Rico with my brain but your skills."

"Like the Polyjuice Potion in Harry Potter?" Private asked.

"Har-what?" Kowalski said, "If that's something that turns you into something else, then yes."

"Private, you watch too many movies." Skipper said.

Private blushed, though it was hard to see when he was pink everywhere, even his feet were pink.

"Why pink?" Kowalski thought out loud. "Huh, needs some remodeling. He should be kept out of Alice's sight and out of my lab." He said the last words sternly.

"Alright soldier, you're in quarantine." Skipper said.

"Wait, what?" Private said nervously, staring at his leader.

"You cannot be around other animals or up there for at least a week."

"Yes sir."

Private climbed into his bunk and winced, the boils gave him great pain.

"Kowalski, try not to make things that would kill us" Skipper said.

"It wouldn't have killed him!" Kowalski said defensively

"Ah- I don't want to hear it. You keep your scientific mumbo-jumbo to yourself." Skipper said.

Kowalski glared at the leader, "I was until Private came butting into my work space!" he snapped.

"Why did you let him in?"

"I didn't!"

"I know!"

"Then why are you accusing me?!"

"Is that what it sounds like to you?!"

"Sounds like you're trying to pick a fight."

Skipper stiffened, Kowalski had apparently struck a nerve. "Why would I care, they're just civilians and I am a tough soldier." He muttered, "I do not babysit or have emotions that would make Rico vomit more than weapons."

"What are you talking about?" Kowalski asked, truly confused. "I didn't say a thing about it."

Skipper turned away, "I'm sorry, this discussion is now closed." He said sternly.

"Does this have to do with your recon?" Kowalski asked.

"Case closed." Skipper snapped.

"Did something happen up there?"

"No, and I said case closed."

"Is it Marlene?"

"I SAID CASE CLOSED!" Skipper roared in fury. "And wipe that smirk off your face."

Kowalski only grinned, "It is Mar-"

SMACK!

"You don't know when to keep your brainy mouth shut do you?" Skipper yelled, "You need to learn when to listen to your superior officer and stop being such a baby."

Kowalski's grin slid off, "A baby? I got tortured! What do you expect, me to go prancing around like everything's sunshine and daisies?!"

"I don't expect you to cry and whine about it!"

"I'M NOT BABY!" Kowalski screamed.

"WELL, THAT SURE SOUNDS LIKE ONE!"

Private was cringing under his covers when Dan and Charlie burst in.

"What's going on?" Dan asked, looking wildly from Skipper to Kowalski. "We heard yelling, what are you geezers up to now?"

Skipper's expression changed to shock for a moment before changing back into fury.

Kowalski took the moment to slide out of sight into his lab.

Charlie hid in Rico's bunk and cringed like Private.

"I am NOT a geezer, I'm not even close to being old!" Skipper snapped, seething with anger.

"How old are you?"

"CLASSIFIED!" Skipper roared.

"Gee, I only asked a question, no need to yell."

"I'M NOT YELLING!" Skipper retorted. He coughed.

"Don't wear out your voice, Skippa!" Private squeaked.

Skipper shot a glare at the younger penguin. "I'm not wearing out my voice." He said sternly, his voice cracked.

Private gasped, "Skipper, please calm down now."

"Don't tell me to-" He suddenly burst into a fit of coughs.

"Are you okay?" Charlie asked.

"I'm perfectly fine." Skipper said hoarsely.

"Uh-huh." Dan snickered.

"Shut-ehh"

"What?"

"I sa-*cough* you-*cough*…should shu…*cough* I…" He paused, looking around the room. "Well, this isn't good." He rasped.

**A/N: And another cliffhanger…Mwahahahaha! Read and Review, my lovely readers! **


	19. Silent scream

**PREVIOUSLY…**

"_Don't wear out your voice, Skippa!" Private squeaked_

"_I'm not wearing out my voice."_

"_Please calm down now."_

"_Are you okay?" Charlie asked._

"_I'm perfectly fine." Skipper said hoarsely._

"_Uh-huh." Dan snickered. _

"_Shut-ehh"_

"_What?"_

"_I sa-*cough* you-*cough*…should shu…*cough* I…" He paused, looking around the room. "Well, this isn't good." He rasped. _

**Chapter 19**

"Oh boy," Kowalski said, "I know, come here." He led Skipper to the fridge and pulled out some orange juice. "Try some."

Skipper shook his head vigorously, "I'm a cof- *cough*- coffee guy." He said, his voice rattled.

"Well, you're a coughing guy now." Kowalski said.

Skipper narrowed his eyes and accepted the cup of orange juice Kowalski passed him. Skipper drank it made a disgusted face. "Only Ri-*cough*-ng-*cough*-Ringtail lik- *cough*"

"Only Ringtail likes fruit?" Dan suggested.

Skipper nodded.

"I've got it! Stop talking." Charlie said.

Skipper opened his mouth in retort.

"Wait, he's right! If you stop talking, maybe it'll heal itself. You have to give it time." Kowalski said. "I'd give it a week or so."

"Okay, I can do that." Skipper said hoarsely.

"Skipper."

"What?"

"You're talking."

"Aw, ham steak!" Skipper rasped, and then he quickly covered his beak.

"You've never been able to not command us before," Private said, "so you need to rest your voice or…well…you might not be able to stay a leader."

Skipper's eyes widened in shock, he ran to the table and gave the others a forced smile with his beak shut.

"There you go," Dan said.

Kowalski pulled out his dry erase board and a marker "If you need to say anything for the next few days, use that." He said, handing the objects to Skipper.

"Good job," Dan said, "Now I'll take care of everything and you just rest up."

Skipper wrote on the board and gave it to Charlie.

"Nice try soldier," Charlie read out loud, "you'll have to do better than that if you think I'll cave in, pea brain."

"Charlie!" Dan said in a hurt voice.

"He wrote it!" Charlie said defensively

Dan scoffed, "I can't believe you all think I'm actually that selfish and that I'd care more about my ne-"

"What did Byron offer?" Private said.

"I could travel the world and train to be a leader!" Dan admitted.

Skipper opened his mouth angrily.

"Wait, use the board!" Kowalski said. Charlie handed it to Skipper,

Skipper hit Dan with it.

"Hey, that's what I would have said." Kowalski said.

Skipper shoved the board in Kowalski's face.

"Okay, I'm reading it." He said. "Team, I can no longer fill my position in this team. I'm relying on Kowalski to lead the team in the training exercises I have devised for everybody…wow…intense training schedule."

"Where's Rico?" Dan asked.

"He's gone to the Bronx zoo for classified reasons." Kowalski said. "Private, you need to stay down here until you look like yourself again. It should wear off soon. And Skipper, I think you should stay down here as well."

Skipper shook his head defiantly.

"What if Julien comes in, you'll yell at him and your voice will be damaged even more."

Skipper wanted to scream in frustration, but he knew he couldn't.

Kowalski went up with Charlie and Dan while the other two stayed down in the HQ.

"Don't worry." Private said, "Gran always told me that tea and honey help a sore throat. And we could watch the telly, or you could plan the next mission."

Skipper smiled feebly.

A few hours later, Skipper had gulped down six cups of tea and went to the bathroom once. He felt slightly better but still didn't want to take a chance.

"I can hold it like a camel." Private read from the board.

Skipper grinned and Private laughed.

The next morning, Dan had left with Byron Kent, an event in which everyone was not sure whether to be relived or sad. Private was of course sad because Dan had grown to be a good comrade. Kowalski was a bit of both. He enjoyed a challenge, yet Dan had a bit of a nasty attitude that had improved a bit. Charlie felt the same as Private, and Skipper…well, he saw a good soldier in Dan, but like Kowalski, hated the attitude problem.

That evening, Rico returned with nothing new to report. Only that the Bronx zoo was doing well and that they had a new transfer a while ago, though no one could tell Rico what the animal was because they forgot.

Rico had been briefed on what had occurred for the past twenty four hours. He had put medicine on Private's boils since he was, in addition to being the weapons expert, a really good medic. It was hard to tell if Rico was happy or sad that Dan had gone, he seemed indifferent.

A few days passed and Private's boils had gone down significantly, and he was getting his black and white color back. He still looked like he had chicken pox and was pink, but it was an improvement. Kowalski had checked up on them and informed Private that he should be all better by tomorrow morning. Skipper had been doing better as well, but Kowalski advised him to take it easy.

The only thing that bothered Skipper was something that he never told the others. He'd been having nightmares that caused him to wake up in the middle of the night covered in sweat.

Kowalski and Charlie were up top, training and Rico was on recon. Skipper observed the training until he heard Private calling him. He jumped down and saw Private pointing to the television.

"Look, you're getting an incoming message." He said.

Skipper rushed to it and pressed some buttons, the television showed a female penguin.

Skipper paled.

"Oh, hello!" Private said.

"Not talking to me?" The penguin said. "Private, leave, this is none of your business."

Private was about to respond when Skipper gave him the board.

"He's not leaving, Jordan." Private read, "I can't speak at the moment because…well it's none of your business. What do you want?"

Jordan laughed, "The great Skipper reduced to writing on a board? Oh boy, that's funny!"

Skipper growled, but it was Private who spoke.

"Jordan, this isn't funny!"

"What happened to you?" She asked, getting a closer look.

"It was an accident in the lab, if this is important, please tell us."

The other penguins, minus Rico, had slid back into the HQ, but no one noticed.

"First, what happened with Nora?"

"THAT NAME!" Kowalski screamed, causing everyone to jump. "NEVER SPEAK OF IT!" he ran into the lab and slammed the door.

"You heard him," Private read, "never speak of it. Now tell me why you called or I'm hanging up."

"Fine, Private's mother knows he's alive and wishes to see him."

Private stared, wide eyed, at Jordan. He couldn't believe it; her picture ran through his mind.

"Also, your new zoo transfers are coming tomorrow. And we keep getting calls from a zoo nearby, but they hang up immediately."

"The Bronx?" Charlie asked, "Maybe it's Rico."

"No, it's in New Jersey."

"Anything else you'd like to throw at us?" Charlie said.

Skipper was half irritated and half nervous.

"Yup, Skipper's mom is there too, with Rico's dad. Also we found Kowalski's dad and are flying him over in a week."

Before any of them could respond, there was a loud thump, followed by, "NO! Nonononononononono!" Kowalski had burst out of the lab. "That guy made my life…can't say with Charlie and Private here so I'll say MISERABLE!"

"I think I'll leave you to deal with this."

"Jordan, wait!" Skipper said, his voice was still hoarse.

"Skipper, no!" Charlie said, "You have to stay quiet."

Skipper ignored him. "I'm sorry, I have to say this. You've been angry with me for ditching your brother, but in reality he ditched me. He made his choice and I left him when he said he'd had enough. Manfredi might have told you I heartlessly dumped his butt off the helicopter, but I had a mission and those two were in my way. My mission was to take care of Private and they nearly cost his life. You have to understand-" he couldn't go on, his voice faded into coughs.

"Now you listen." Jordan said, "There are also several other reasons we broke up."

"That being the main one." Charlie read from the board.

"Fine, I'll just not tell you anything…keep you in the dark…LIKE YOU KEPT ME IN THE DARK!" She screamed, "You told me nothing, I had to find out when Manfredi told me. If you truly had loved me, you would have at least tried to tell me. You could have explained, but your stupid pride got in the way of your emotions. I can't be with someone like that! You're not tough, you're weak and foolish. You don't even deserve to be leader."

"Don't talk about him like that!" a voice yelled from the entrance. Marlene jumped down and ran to the TV. "I heard what he said, serves Johnson right for leaving because he was jealous."

"Who the heck are you?"

"None of your business, missy."

"Listen here, what are you, an otter?"

Marlene nodded, "My name is Marlene."

"Okay, Marlene." Jordan said, "He cared more about the safety of a brat than for his own team. Then he cared more about the kid than me. He should have paid more attention to me."

"Well if you knew anything, then you'd know that relationships are about sacrifice." Marlene said furiously, "He's a soldier, and soldiers have to take risk. He risked his life to make sure Private was safe. Kowalski took risk as a kid to make sure his friends were safe. Rico would risk his life for the safety of everybody here. He was almost killed when we were taken prisoner. It all comes down to that, and if you can't understand that, then why would you be in the Antarctic Force or whatever you're called?"

"You're a civilian; you know nothing about what we do." Jordan said coldly, "Keep your prissy little nose out of our business."

"Prissy?!" Marlene growled.

"STOP!"

Everyone looked around at Private who had tears in his eyes. Kowalski looked like he was on the verge of vomiting.

"This is too babyish for me, bye!" Jordan said.

Before Marlene could yell at her more, the TV was blank.

"Don't listen to her." Skipper rasped, "She's just-"

"Stop talking and save your voice." Marlene said with a smile.

Skipper grinned.

"Yes, we're still friends." Marlene said, "Private, what's wrong?"

"I want to see my mum."

"How about in a few months, I need relaxation time." Skipper said.

Private glared through tear-filled blue eyes.

"Alright, one month." Skipper said, "When my voice feels better."

"I'm not going." Kowalski said.

"Oh yes you are."

"Hello neighbors!" Julien said, jumping right in to the habitat, oblivious to the surrounding emotions. "I have come to invite you to a cool party in my kingly home."

"You mean the lemur habitat?" Charlie asked.

"Eh, I don't care what the hecks you call it, it's a PARTY!" He stopped, looking around, and then he saw Private and started laughing. "What happened to you? HAHAHA, you look ridiculous! Haha, stop you are making my sides hurt with laughingness…Ahh that is too funny!"

"Get out." Kowalski said, eyeing Skipper's furious glare and Private's tearful expression.

"In a minute…" Julien said, still laughing hard. "Wow, this is so HILARIOUS! HAHAHAHA, I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING!"

"Then I'll make you." Skipper growled.

"What happened to your voice?" Julien asked, clutching his sides. "That is even funnier! HAHAHA…oh you penguins…you silly, fishy smelling penguins look totally ridiculous! Have I already said that? WHO CARES?! HAHAHAHAHA!"

"Hello, did I drop a mango down here?" Mort asked, peeking in.

"Mort, come look at these silly penguins!" Julien gasped, trying to breathe while laughing.

"Why?" Mort asked, and then he saw Private, "Oh yes, that is silly!" He started laughing as well. "Penguin looks funny."

"De bossy one talks funny too."

"Hahahaha!"

"Huh?" a voice came from above. Julien and Mort were laughing too hard to see Rico come in. He'd heard the commotion and decided to investigate.

And here's what Rico walked in on: Private trying to hide his boil covered, pink body while tears came down his face, Skipper about to destroy Julien, Julien and Mort laughing their heads off, Charlie shrinking behind Marlene to avoid Skipper's wrath, Marlene angrily staring at Julien, and Kowalski trying to decide whether to hold Skipper back or kick the lemurs out.

Rico shook his head and grabbed the lemurs, pushing them out. "Bye!" he said.

"Wait, is this meaning you can't come to my party tonight?"

Kowalski scoffed, "If you wanted us to come, you shouldn't have made fun of Private."

"Or Skipper." Marlene added. "Go away, Julien."

"It's King Juli-ahh, okay, I am going!" He said, eyeing the cannon Rico just pulled out of his mouth.

"Bye penguins!" Mort said.

Kowalski sighed in relief, "Skipper, I could use a break."

Skipper nodded and waved his flipper in dismissal.

Kowalski went into his lab.

Skipper motioned for Marlene to follow him up top. They both exited the HQ, closing the hatch behind him.

"You came back." Skipper whispered.

"I did." Marlene said softly.

"Why?"

"Because I care about you." She said, "You're my best friend, the first one I made when I came here. I was nervous, but you assured me that you and your team could protect the zoo and I trusted you. I still trust you."

"What happened?"

"I got offended by a small remark that wasn't even intended to hurt. I guess I over reacted."

"Me too. Why do you care so much?"

"It was how I was raised. My mom always told me 'If you care about someone and they care about you, then you have a great foundation for a long lasting friendship' and that fate has a funny way of linking people."

"She sounds nice."

"Why do you care, Skipper?"

"I…I don't know. I feel like it's my duty to protect innocent civilians. I began to think of my team as brothers, and you as a friend."

Marlene smiled, "You will always be my best friend."

"I thought I had pushed you away…like I pushed away Manfredi, Johnson, and Jordan…"

"I don't think you could push me away." Marlene said. "Honestly, you're a great friend."

"Marlene, can I tell you something in full confidence?"

"Yes, you can trust me."

"I've been having nightmares."

"Different or all about one thing?"

"They're all about my current lack of voice."

And so Skipper began his story:

_A penguin sat cold and alone, wasting away in a locked cage, he remembered when he had friends._

_Kowalski…_

"_Cool cars go faster. That's a scientific fact"_

"_Trivia! Let's play trivia! I dominate trivia!"_

_Rico…_

"_Kaboom?"_

"_Move in cautiously, men. Rico, ominous background music."_

"_Weee-weee-eee-oooo...weee-oo..."_

_Private…_

"_We'll be by your side every step of the way."_

"_We're digging to Antarctica"_

_Marlene…_

_"Well, I think I'm gonna go ahead and risk it, but I do appreciate your raging paranoia."_

_"Here's a little something that I try to keep to my heart: Try looking for the best in people, cause you'll always find it. Huh?"_

_Even Julien…_

"_Shouldn't you be doing something stupidy dangerous right now with the other penguins?"_

"_Check out the boo-tay! Who's shakin'? Who's quakin'? Who is not... fakin'?"_

"_Wow…what is that, no school? Cause it ain't old school and it ain't "new" school!"_

_Maurice…_

"_All hail King Julien! Case closed."_

"_Let me say that again. He only ate __half__ his icy pop!"_

_Mort…_

"_Which of the colors is blue?"_

_"I don't have to know to like."_

_And Charlie looked up to him…_

"_H-he k-killed my sister…a-and my fam- my family…I-I saw…I want to destroy him, he ruined my life and I want him to pay."_

"_Was that a commander or a nuclear bomb?"_

"_I just want to know if I can do recon."_

"_Really? You think you can handle it?" Skipper asked._

_Charlie blushed and nodded at his feet. _

"_Make eye contact when spoken to, soldier."_

_Charlie looked up at Skipper. "Y-yes sir."_

"_Good night Dad."_

"_I'm staying too; Maya's almost saying my name!"_

"_I've got it! Stop talking."_

_The flashes of memories came to him. Friends…what happened? Of course he knew…in one hour his life came crashing down…even humans didn't want to see him…they heard his terrible squawk…parents complained…and he was taken out of the zoo…he lost his friends…_

"_HA! Stupid smelly penguin!"_

"_I don't like penguin."_

"_I don't like him either, your Highness."_

"_I can't see anything good in you!"_

"_Scientifically speaking- you're useless."_

"_BOO!"_

"_Who needs him?"_

_And the kids…they complained…_

"_Mommy, that penguin scares me…"_

"_I don't like penguin…"_

"_Make it stop!"_

"_Zoo lady, why is that penguin sounding scary?"_

"_It's pathetic; it can't even make a penguin noise."_

_The parents too…_

"_I won't bring my child to a zoo that has a penguin as hideous as that!"_

"_The penguins at the Bronx are better."_

"_I paid to see four cute penguins, not three cuties and one honking scarecrow."_

"_Miss Alice, I think you should get rid of that penguin or my family will never come here again."_

"_It sounds like its dying!"_

_He let Charlie down too…_

"_I don't need a hero who can't talk to me."_

_Everyone abandoned him…now he didn't know where he was...even his mother and his sister didn't want anything to do with him…no one wanted a penguin who couldn't talk…_

_Nobody…_

"What if I can't lead again?" Skipper asked sadly, "My voice is a wreck…I'm nothing…"

"Is Phil a good guy?" Marlene asked.

"Huh?"

"Phil, the chimpanzee."

"Well yeah, he's nice and he can read human writing, pretty useful."

"See, he's useful and nice. And he can't speak, but he doesn't let that get him down."

"Well yeah, but he's got Mason to interpret for him."

"Exactly, he's got a good friend willing to help him out. You've got good friends too, just give them a chance."

"But-"

"But nothing." Marlene said, "Your friends have stuck by your side through thick and thin, what makes you think they're going to ditch you? They're trying to help you."

"Yeah, they are." Skipper said, a smile appearing on his face.

"They all think you're a great penguin and…well, so do I." Marlene blushed.

"Really?"

"Honestly, you can be a great leader with or without your voice."

Skipper smiled, Marlene sure had a way with words. He knew she was right; he didn't have to worry about his team leaving him.

"Uh-oh, Alice alert!" Marlene said, diving into the pool.

Alice looked around the penguin habitat.

"Huh? Where are the other penguins?"

Skipper said "That's classified information." But all Alice heard was a screechy penguin call.

"What happened to you?" She asked, picking him up. "Better get you to the doctor."

Marlene surfaced to see Alice carrying the struggling Skipper away.

Marlene ran into the HQ. "Skipper's been taken by Alice!" she said.

Private gasped.

The penguins burst out of the HQ.

The heard the distant sound of Skipper's screechy yell.

The penguins and Marlene rushed to the zoo's hospital and listened under the window.

"Hmm, let's see…" Kowalski said. "Private, climb on top of Rico."

Private stood on Rico while Kowalski climbed on top of Private.

Marlene climbed to the top of Kowalski's head. "He's on the table, the doctor's saying something."

She nudged the window open a crack. They could hear the doctor's voice.

"There's nothing seriously wrong, Alice." He said, "This guy's just got a bad sore throat. It should go away in a few days…here; I'll give him a shot-"

"AFRIANGEJNNEEEDLE! NO NEEDLE!" Skipper screamed, trying to get away.

"Oh dear." The doctor said, "Now relax, there's an alternative method."

"How about one that doesn't involve NEEDLES, Doctor Deranged!" Skipper growled.

"Here we are, medicine." He showed Skipper a bottle with blue medicine.

"What the deuce is that?" Skipper asked, eyeing the bottle suspiciously. "It looks like the stuff you clean toilets with."

"No worries, my friend." The doctor said, pouring some down Skipper's throat. "There, your throat should be feeling better in six hours."

"Six? Where'd you pull that number out of?"

Skipper spotted Marlene giggling by the window. He signaled for her to get down. The doctor looked around, "Must have spotted something, oh well. He can go back to his friends."

Alice nodded and grabbed Skipper.

"Back to HQ!" Marlene said.

They rushed back to the penguin habitat just when Alice came. Marlene had slid back to her habitat.

"Huh? Weren't there more of you?" She asked, looking at the penguins. "I swear there was one the other day…or something like that. I must be working too hard. Here you go." She put Skipper down and walked away.

"Seriously, how does she stay employed?" Charlie asked. Everyone shrugged and laughed.

**THAT NIGHT 2200 hours (10:00pm)…**

**Hoboken, NJ…**

Silently, a masked figure crept into the zoo.

It woke only one animal…its intended target.

"Huh?"

"Remember me?" The figure asked in a hoarse voice.

"You?! H-how is this possible? How did you find me?"

"You've been very bad…time for revenge."

"NO! In case you forgot, I can fight back!"

They fought, both sustained injury, and then the figure was kicked unconscious by the woken animal. The latter fled undetected, knowing it was not safe anymore. The fleeing animal stopped briefly by the puffin's habitat before leaving the place forever; clutching its injured side...the only question left was…where to go?

**A/N: All I can say is that Hans woke up to find his face covered in marker drawings…MWAHAHAHAHA! By the way, the figure is not Hans.**

…**READ AND REVIEW PLEASE **


	20. Welcome to Central Park Zoo

Skipper woke up bright and early the next morning. He made coffee, drank two cups and stood in front of the bunks. The others were asleep; he smiled then pulled out an air horn and squeezed it. The resulting blare of noise, sounding much like a ship's horn woke the others immediately.

"OW!"

"Whoa!"

"Ohmigosh!"

"WHO STOLE GRANDMA'S MUFFINS?!"

They all looked at Kowalski who smiled nervously.

"Grandma's muffins?" Skipper asked. "Is that after a moo cow has a chocolate marshmallow?"

Kowalski slid out of the bunk, clearly embarrassed. "Did I really say that?"

"No need to paint, you're as flopsy faced as ever." Private giggled.

Kowalski opened his mouth in retort.

"Alright, now that we're finished teasing Kowalski, time for training." Skipper said.

"Hey, your voice is better." Private said.

"WHAT? WHO PUT A BOY IN BUTTER?" Charlie yelled, rubbing his ear holes.

"Turn it down or you'll take out our hearing next." Private said.

"HERRING? SURE, I'D LOVE SOME."

"I think the horn might have temporarily taken out his hearing." Kowalski said.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU! I THINK IT WAS THE HORN."

Rico pointed to the hatch.

"HEY GUYS, WE SHOUL-"

Rico put a flipper over Charlie's beak.

"Thank you, Rico." Skipper said. He grabbed the board and wrote on it.

It said: Until your ear holes recover, don't talk. We're going up top for training.

Charlie nodded.

Kowalski looked at Private, "The boils are gone, but you still have a slightly pink tinge."

"Okay, so can he train?" Skipper asked.

Kowalski nodded. "I'd also advise for you to rest your voice."

The penguins then headed up top.

"Alright men, running exercises around the zoo." Skipper said, copying it on the board for Charlie.

They formed a line and waited for Skipper's signal. Skipper put his flipper up, then swung it down. Then they were running. Kowalski was ahead with Skipper close behind. Rico was farther back, but ahead of Private and Charlie. Private was farther ahead of Charlie.

Three laps later…

Rico had caught up to Skipper and Kowalski. They finished the last lap almost at the same time. Kowalski had touched down first and then Skipper came half a second later. Rico was three seconds behind them.

Private was panting, he was almost there. He was passing the lemur habitat when something small landed in his path.

"Mort?" Private tried to stop, but he crashed into Mort and they went tumbling into a pretzel cart.

Charlie stopped, clutching his side, he signaled for the others to come.

Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico were there in a flash.

"What happened?" Kowalski asked.

Charlie could only point to the cart; he was panting and making small noises. He only managed to say "Mort…"

"So Mort landed in Private's way and before he could stop, crashed into Mort and they both went tumbling into the pretzel cart." Kowalski said.

They stared at him.

"What?" Kowalski said, "I'm fluent in panting talk as well as panic. Can we rescue Private now?"

The penguins approached the pretzel cart.

"Skipper?" Private called from inside, "It's locked."

"It smells good in here." Mort said.

"Kowalski, options."

"This calls for science! Rico, what are you doing?"

Rico hacked up a key and opened the small side door.

"Aw come on, I had a brilliant plan!"

"No complaining." Skipper said.

Private and Mort exited the cart.

"Hello penguins." Mort said.

"Mort!" Julien called, "Come here so I can kick you!"

"Julien!" Josie scolded.

"The king calls!" Mort said as he ran back to the lemur habitat.

"I have a question." Charlie asked once he had recovered his breath.

"If it's about the lemurs, then I have a million of those." Skipper said, shaking his head.

"No, it's…how did Rico have a key?"

"Spare." Rico grunted.

And with that, the penguins returned to training exercises. After their basic training, they were to challenge each other to see who would win. They all stood on the platform with blindfolds on like last time and then Skipper commanded them to start.

Charlie, being new to this, had to rely on his hearing which was still halfway recovered from the air horn.

Skipper sensed one of the boys nearby, but he did nothing. He heard a yell followed by Private's high pitched one. But there was no splash in the water, indicating that Private had managed to fend off the attacker. Skipper quietly stepped backwards, almost coming to the edge of the platform.

Charlie had heard the scream and estimated Private's location to be somewhere to his right, so Charlie stepped quickly to his left, colliding with another penguin who wasted no time in tossing the smaller one into the water.

Charlie took off his blindfold and surfaced. "Darn, I'm out." He said. Then he saw Skipper with a concentrated look.

Skipper heard Charlie's remark. _So it was him_. He thought.

Charlie wondered why Kowalski wasn't doing anything. Rico looked like he was ready to knock something over.

Rico headed forward, Kowalski heard him.

Private and Skipper jumped at the same time, colliding into Rico and all three of them bowled into Kowalski. Then it was chaos. Flippers whacked and feet kicked, Private squealed and Rico grunted. Then Private was sent flying into the water.

"You too, huh?" Charlie asked as Private resurfaced.

Private nodded, watching the other three who had separated and were waiting.

"Why's he just standing there?" Charlie asked, pointing to Kowalski.

"He's got a plan." Private said.

Rico charged forward again and this time it was Skipper who had heard him. Skipper managed to trip Rico and kick him to the other side. Kowalski sensed Rico near him and stayed quiet.

Rico jumped up on his feet only to be whacked into the water by Kowalski's flipper.

Now it was Kowalski and Skipper left.

Both of them were silent, unmoving figures.

"Stalemate." Private said.

"Come again?" Charlie asked.

"Stalemate, it's a situation in which two opposing forces find that further action is impossible or futile." Private said, "I heard Mason use it and I asked Kowalski." He added in response to Rico's and Charlie's confused expressions.

Kowalski would have told Private that he was proud if he was not so deeply concentrated.

It seemed like forever would pass…neither one moved…Skipper waiting for Kowalski, and Kowalski waiting for Skipper…

They heard footsteps, but much larger and heavier than a penguin's.

"Alice alert!" Private said, jumping onto the platform with Charlie.

Skipper and Kowalski took off their blindfolds quickly. As soon as Rico had come up, they all stuffed his mouth with the blindfolds which he swallowed.

Alice was carrying a crate. She heaved it onto the platform. "Hmm, let me get a crowbar." She said, leaving.

"Hmm, who do we know who has a crowbar?" Kowalski asked, humoring himself.

Rico grinned and hacked one up, then pried the crate open and swallowed the crowbar.

"Be ready men, this could be a trap."

They put their flippers up.

"Greetings, we come in peace." A voice said from in the crate. "Do not be alarmed, we are friendly creatures."

"Okay friendly, get out of the crate." Skipper said.

"Fine, I'll- oh my gosh he's so CUTE!" A penguin zipped out of the crate and gave Charlie a hug. "Aww, aren't you just adorable?" She gushed. "I just want to eat you up."

"Ma'am, I'm a dangerous machine not an adorable plush toy." Charlie said.

"AWW, super adorable!" She squealed, squeezing the youngest penguin even harder.

"Help." Charlie gasped.

"OFF!" Rico yelled.

The female penguin jumped, "Gee you scared me! Oh, I'm sorry is this adorable one yours?"

"No, none of us are daddies." Skipper said. "Who are you? Who else is in that crate? And just where did you come from?"

"You ask a lot of questions, are you some sort of interrogator?" She asked.

Skipper glared at her.

"Fine, I'm Veronica." She said, flashing her blue-green eyes. "I'm from Arizona and I'm not going to be here for very long."

Charlie sighed in relief then laughed to himself.

"AWW EXTREMELY SUPER ADORABLE!" Veronica said.

Rico held her back from squeezing Charlie again. Charlie retreated quietly behind Private.

"Alright," Veronica said, pouting, "One other penguin came with me, she's from Alaska and transferred to Arizona last year, then both of us were supposed to come here a few months ago but something changed so we came today."

"So it's a girl?" Kowalski asked.

"That is what I said." Veronica said with a straight face. "Any other conclusion would be illogical."

Kowalski had zipped into the HQ and locked himself in his lab before she finished her sentence.

"Aw, come on!" Veronica complained, "PERFECT Spock imitation right there!"

"Star Trek fan?" Skipper asked.

Veronica gave a big grin in reply.

"What about Lunacorns?" Private asked.

"Never heard of them."

Private frowned. "Do you like ducklings?"

"They're okay, I guess."

Private felt even sadder.

"Why won't she come out?" Skipper asked, pointing to the crate.

"I don't believe it." Veronica said, rolling her eyes.

She marched inside the crate.

"No." A voice said.

"Don't be a baby." Veronica said

After a few groans from the second penguin, the two finally emerged.

The second penguin looked like she wanted to run back inside the crate.

She mumbled something.

"Can't hear you." Skipper said.

"Mikayla."

"Mikayla, huh? Not a very talkative one are you, missy?" Skipper asked.

She shook her head.

"Yeah, I don't trust you." He said, oblivious to her offended expression. "Never trust the quiet one…or the normal one."

"What have you got down there?" Veronica asked, not listening to Skipper's comment. "Where'd that tall guy go?"

"Classified. You shouldn't even be here." Skipper said, narrowing his eyes.

"Eep, you look scary when you do that."

"That's the point."

"Why don't you introduce yourselves to us?"

"Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, Private, Charlie." Skipper said very fast, "That's all, any questions?"

"Which one of you is Skipper? That's an odd name."

Skipper glared at her.

"Oh it's you…it's…uh… it's a very nice name."

"Not getting off to a good start." Skipper said. "Kowalski is the one who went down there, Private is the British one right here, Charlie is the penguin you tried to squeeze the life out of, and that's Rico with the Mohawk and the scar. Rico, give our guests a housewarming gift."

Rico hacked up a vase with flowers in it and extended it to them.

Mikayla took several steps backwards. "Ew." She whimpered

Veronica looked repulsed, but put on a nervous smile, "Well, he did vomit a vase of flowers so I guess that's nice…how did he get the scar?"

Skipper grinned evilly and the girls looked even more frightened.

"Skippa, don't do that!" Private said, "Hello, it's nice to meet you. Don't worry, Rico's a nice guy."

Rico smiled psychotically.

"Somehow, that didn't make me feel better." Veronica said.

"Hey guys!" Marlene said, approaching the penguins' habitat.

"Hi Marlene!" Private said, waving. "We have new recruits!"

Skipper slapped Private.

"Sorry." Private said.

"Hi I'm Veronica!" Veronica said, "Are you an otter?"

"Why yes, yes I am." Marlene said, "Nice to meet you."

"These guys are a little weird."

"No, they're really great once you get to know them."

Veronica shrugged. "They're too…much."

"Hey!" Rico said.

"Stand down, Rico." Skipper said. "Sorry Marlene, we're showing the new guys around today."

"We're girls." Veronica said.

"Doesn't matter." Skipper said.

Marlene rolled her eyes at Skipper's comment. "Later, I'll teach you how to be more sensitive around girls."

"I'm plenty sensitive." Skipper said.

"Yeah, good luck with that." Marlene said, walking back to her habitat.

Veronica gasped, "Are you two dating?"

"What?!" Skipper said, "No, she's just a friend."

Veronica giggled, but didn't say any more.

Skipper and the others led the girls down to HQ.

"Private, don't be so nice." Skipper whispered, "They could be spies."

"But Skipper, being nice is part of my personality." Private told him. "Okay, I'll keep a look out for any suspicious behavior" he said, eyeing the look on Skipper's face.

Skipper turned around and cleared his throat. "Well, this is our home and now yours. Uh, make yourselves comfortable, but not too comfortable. I don't want any pink frilly heart things or anything pink or frilly in this place." He said. He honestly didn't trust them, but for Private's sake, he'd try.

"Fine, pink and frilly is overrated anyway." Veronica said. "Where do I sleep?"

Rico hacked up a newspaper and laid it on the floor. Everyone else gave him a look. Rico groaned and set up two small beds on the other side of HQ.

"Better?" Rico asked.

Skipper nodded. "Kowalski, get out here!" he said. "That's an order, mister!"

Kowalski reluctantly left his lab, closing the door behind him.

"Now that he's been as kind as to join us, we were in the middle of training. You can join us if you want, but neither of you is to be in here unsupervised." Skipper said.

"We could show them around the zoo." Private suggested.

"I suppose." Skipper sighed, "I want Rico and Charlie on recon, and Private and Kowalski showing the new recruits around."

Charlie grinned; any chance to get away from Veronica was one he gladly took. Rico barely had time to respond when Charlie began dragging him away.

"Have fun!" Veronica said.

"Recon is not fun." Kowalski said, "The work can be grueling and demanding. You don't know the first thing about recon." Then he turned to Skipper, "Do I have to go? I'd rather do whatever you were going to do."

"I was going to talk to Ringtail about the whole 'kicking Mort' thing and warn Josie that her daughter might have the life squeezed out of her." He responded. "Then I might join you."

Mikayla giggled and Veronica glared at her.

Kowalski sighed, "Alright, follow us." He said.

Kowalski, Private, and the girls went up top.

"He's kinda cute." Veronica whispered to Mikayla.

"I heard that." Kowalski said. "And if I was any cuter, Doris would have said something by now."

"Who?"

"Classified." Kowalski snapped. "We have much to show you."

"Didn't Skipper say 'classified'? Do you guys say that often? It seems a bit odd unless you're hiding something. Are you hiding something? I think it's a secret, I'll tell you if you tell me."

"I don't want to know your secret." Kowalski said, "Now here is the elephant habitat, this is Burt."

"Hi guys!" Burt said. "Can't chat right now, I'm almost done with this bag of peanuts."

"Alright, moving on." Kowalski said.

"So what is it?" Veronica asked.

"An elephant, male, gray, weights about-"

"I meant the secret."

"There is no secret." Private said.

"I know you're not telling us something that's 'classified' and we want to know, right Mikayla?"

"Don't get me involved." Mikayla said softly.

"Fine, you really want to know?" Kowalski asked, clearly showing his annoyed mood. A headache began to develop above his right ear hole.

"Yup." Veronica said.

Private put a flipper on Kowalski's beak, "Kowalski, you know Skipper sai-"

Kowalski moved Private's flipper away, "I'm really a pop superstar from Georgia, no questions." He started walking away.

"Yeah right." Veronica muttered.

"Come on." Private said. "Next is the reptile house."

Mikayla shook her head vigorously.

"EW! NO WAY!" Veronica squealed, "I'm not going inside, I'll be eaten ALIVE! Digested in churning cauldron of-"

"Stop!" Kowalski snapped, the thumping of his headache becoming worse. "There's nothing currently in there that can eat you." He shook his head in an agitated manner, but that only seemed to further increase the pain now shooting across his head. "Though you can give Barry a hug." He muttered.

Private gave Kowalski a glare worthy of Skipper.

Kowalski rolled his eyes and proceeded into the reptile house with the trembling girls behind him and Private bringing up the rear.

Veronica looked around, it didn't seem so bad. At least there weren't any snakes. They saw a few lizards, the chameleons, and-

"He's so adorable!" She squealed, staring at the frog. "Can I hug him?"

Barry gave the girls a questioning look.

Mikayla squinted at the frog, "It's a poison dart frog." She said, pointing to the sign.

"You can read?" Kowalski asked.

She shook her head, "There's a few back in the zoo in Arizona." She explained.

"I could have told you that," Kowalski grumbled, trying to ignore the pain in his head. He stared at the opposite wall and continued mumbling angrily.

Mikayla looked frightened, she thought she did something wrong.

"Is he okay?" Veronica asked.

"Yes, he's just tired." Private said, "And since this place gives you the willies, let's go see the rest of the zoo."

He led them to a habitat with a small pond, it was bigger than Marlene's and instead of a cave, and there were fake trees and big rocks.

"Roger." Private called, "Roger, are you home?"

"_I like sunshine and lollipops, happy frogs and belly flops_." A singing voice came from behind the rocks. Then Roger popped up, "Oh, hey guys!" he said.

"AHH! CROCODILE!" Veronica screamed.

Kowalski winced in pain, "Technically, alligator." He corrected. "And PLEASE stop freaking out."

"Roger is very kind; he's been our friend since we found him in the sewers under Marlene's habitat." Private said, "He's a jolly good fellow and-"

"Moving on." Kowalski said, holding back a groan as his head seared with pain.

"Oh, bye then!" Roger called after them, he felt sad that he didn't get to chat.

Private hurried to catch up to Kowalski, "Kowalski, I think we should mingle wi-"

"Koala." Kowalski said, pointing to the sleeping Leonard. "Nocturnal mammal, highly paranoid." He said quickly, wanting the day to be over.

He zipped them by Pinky; Bada and Bing; Phil and Mason; Shelly; Marlene; and Roy. He blushed when Private took the girls to see Doris, not wishing to go himself because of the many rejections she gave him.

Private decided to go slow on their second to last habitat.

"This is Joey the Kangaroo." Private said, "He can be rather temperamental, but he's a good ally."

"Ally? Does that mean you have enemies too?" Veronica asked excitedly.

"Did I say Ally, I meant friend." Private said nervously.

"Oh really, didn't sound that way to me." Veronica said, giving him a questioning look.

"Oi! Joey needs quiet time, get outta here before I pummel you lot!" Joey snapped.

Mikayla nodded nervously and ran to where Kowalski stood waiting for them. Veronica and Private joined them immediately.

"Let's say…he's a friend…if he's…not angry…" Private panted.

"Hi, how are you surviving?" Skipper asked.

"Barely." Veronica responded.

"Fairly well or at least reasonably well." Private said, smiling. "I don't know about…" he looked at Kowalski.

"Last stop, the lemurs." Skipper said. "Kowalski, get some medicine from Rico and go lie down." He said, "You've had enough excitement for one day."

"I can do this." Kowalski said, "I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Don't push yourself."

Kowalski nodded, even though his head felt like it was about to burst.

"I've known you thirteen years, you're not okay." Skipper said, "Get that medicine and go to bed, that's an order."

Kowalski nodded and headed off to find Rico.

"Alright, lemur habitat next!" Skipper said happily.

Private eyed him suspiciously, knowing that the leader would never be overjoyed upon visiting the lemurs. Perhaps Maya had really grown on him, or perhaps he had a hidden agenda.

Skipper caught Private's eye and grinned.

"Hello fair maidens and gentle-birds, welcome to my humble kingdom." Julien said, peering down at them as they approached. "Please penguins, come join us."

Now Private was officially suspicious, Julien would never be this polite or know how to use the word 'maiden' without insulting someone.

"Why, hello." Maurice said, "May I introduce our King, the illustrious King Julien XIII, etc. And his wife, Queen Josie and their beautiful baby girl, Maya."

"Hi, I am Mort." The small lemur said in a tone that suggested he rehearsed this, "I am a normal lemur and not at all obsessed with…" he twitched, "w-with…THE FEET!" He squealed, flinging himself upon Julien's feet.

"How many times do I have to be telling you? OFF THE FEET!" Julien screamed, kicking Mort off.

Skipper's grin turned to a groan. "They're not much for first impressions."

"Gipy!" Maya shouted.

"Julien, why did you kick him? I told you a thousand ti-"

A loud squeal interrupted her.

Veronica rushed over to Maya and scooped her up. "SHE'S SO CUTE!"

Maya, frightened by the stranger, immediately began to wiggle and scratch. But this wiggling only made the flippers around her tighten.

Then a loud cry sounded from the small baby, "MAMA!"

**A/N: End of long chapter, more to come! And I need an opinion, are any of my characters Mary-sue? I REALLY need someone to tell me and honestly, I won't be mad, I just need an opinion on how to improve anything so PLEASE tell me if you see any Mary-sue characteristics.**


	21. Because of a nasty meerkat

**A/N: It has come to my attention that Veronica is too much like Tammy so I will get rid of her. Also I stated in chapter eighteen that Maya was one and a half months old, but she is actually four months old. As of this chapter, the month is August. The story began sometime in March and Maya was born in April, specific dates currently unknown. Enjoy and if you have any questions or comments, feel free to ask!**

Josie had quickly rescued her baby from being squeezed to death.

"I warned you." Skipper said.

"You are banished from my kingly kingdom!" Julien told Veronica.

"For hugging a baby?" Veronica asked, "That's just messed up."

"No it's not." Skipper and Julien said at the same time. They looked at each other.

"I said it first." Julien said with a big grin.

"Only in your dreams, Ringtail." Skipper responded. "Alright you three," he said to the other penguins, "Let's go."

They heard Josie say "At least she finally said Mama. I'm so proud."

"Why am I banished for hugging a baby?" Veronica asked once they were back at the HQ. "I love kids. Besides, I didn't hurt her."

Mikayla looked away sadly, but no one noticed.

"She was wiggling for a minute before she yelled." Private said, "Also, you're a complete stranger to her."

"I don't like that Julien guy." She said.

"Shh!" Private said before Skipper could respond. "Kowalski's sleeping."

Kowalski was in his bunk with his mouth slightly open.

"He looks like he's smiling." Private said hopefully, "Maybe he's feeling better."

"Maybe, and he's probably dreaming about science." Skipper said. The others looked at him. "I've known him the longest. Technically, I knew Private before Kowalski, but I was one of the first penguins to meet Kowalski."

"Are you brothers?" Mikayla asked, glad for a change in subject.

"Brothers in a way, but by blood, no we are not." Skipper told her. "You two are going to be watched. I still don't trust you two."

"But you trusted us enough to let us tour the zoo." Veronica said.

"Or did I?" Skipper said mysteriously, giving a maniacal grin. "You didn't see anything, it was all a dream."

"What are you talking about?"

"Blood…innocent blood…death…not deserved to go…take me…" Kowalski grunted, turning in his bunk. "Emma…my fault…"

"Uh, scientific things," Skipper said, "Beakers and inventions and er…exploding stuff…What is the quadruped former something?"

"Quadratic formula?" Kowalski muttered sleepily. "I know that stuff…hang on…I have a phone call…yes, Mr. President… I can invent a suit ray…as soon as…Skipper gets back from…Madagascar…I went there once…Met a nice guy…and there was a dancing lion…no, I'm not kidding…he sounds oddly…oddly like…a guy named…Ben…Ben something…I finished the ray…have it on your desk by…by Mon…Monday…morning…" he trailed off into a snore.

The girls were dissolving into silent giggles. Private smiled.

"Alright, up top." Skipper said. "Good night Kowalski."

"Good night, Doris."

Private let out a laugh as he climbed out of the hatch.

"Haha, you just earned yourself night time recon." Skipper said. Private's smile faded quickly, "No arguments, soldier."

They trained up top until Alice threw their dinner into the habitat. Kowalski woke up sometime later, hungry for dinner. He ate his fish quietly and retreated to the lab. Skipper sent Private to do recon as soon as he was finished with dinner. Rico and Charlie entertained themselves with a monster truck marathon.

"Uh…Private?" Rico asked Skipper.

"Negative, soldier." Skipper said. "He hasn't had a chance for recon in a while, and this was the perfect excuse to make him."

Rico shrugged and returned to the television.

There was a knock at the entrance.

Skipper climbed up the ladder, "Private, I told you- Oh hey Mason." He said, "What brings you to our humble home?"

"Humble?" Veronica said.

Skipper glared at her.

"Actually, it concerns her." Mason said. "Phil was planning a poo throw at Alice when we heard her talking about transferring her. Apparently the other zoo made a mistake on the transfer papers."

"When does she move out?" Skipper asked, trying not to sound hopeful.

"Tonight, they need her back right away."

Skipper nodded. Phil and Mason left to plan their next target of chimp poo.

An hour later, Veronica was taken by Alice to a truck outside the zoo. Everyone tried to act sad that she was leaving, but they were honestly glad she was gone.

"She's worse than Tammy." Charlie said.

"How so?" Skipper asked.

"You could at least tell her to shut it." Kowalski said. "And she never squeezed the life out of anyone. She only tried to take a bite out of Rico's head, which I find odd."

"Yeah, ouch." Rico said, rubbing his head as if it still hurt.

"I wonder if she actually has ADHD. It would make sense with some of the symptoms." Kowalski said, "She was inattentive, hyperactive, and impulsive."

"Or maybe she was just being a kid." Skipper said.

"Maybe." Kowalski said.

"Let's use the opportunity to learn more about you." Charlie said to Mikayla.

"Well, she has been here all day and we know nothing really." Kowalski said, "Okay, tell us everything about you."

"Maybe not everything." She said. "But I was born, or hatched, in Alaska and had a perfect life."

"Yeah right, no one is perfect. Even Josie's ex-boyfriend dumped her and tried to run away from the fact he was the reason she became pregnant, and then he died before Josie could kill him." Skipper said. "Something tells me you have more to say."

"It was an accident." She said, "A terrible accident. I thought I was saving him…he looked so thirsty."

"Who?"

"A little penguin, just a few weeks old." She said, "And I killed him…"

Rico and Charlie gasped and Kowalski stared at her.

"How is that an accident?" Skipper demanded.

"He was playing near the water and there was no one around supervising him, so I decided to watch him until a parent came. Then he started pointing to the water and I thought he was thirsty. I took him to the water and he drank it…" She stopped, the memory was too painful.

"And?" Skipper pressed. "Did you shove him in?"

"No!" Mikayla gasped, looking horrified. "Apparently, he wasn't supposed to be there, he had snuck away from his parents…a ship had been caught in a storm and toxic barrels broke and spread into the ocean."

"So he was poisoned." Skipper said.

"And I was left to feel the guilt of what I had done, and if that wasn't enough, everyone avoided me. Even my own parents hated me; they didn't want to have a daughter who was a killer. It was five years ago and I still feel guilty. I tried to run away from my mistake…and I left Arizona because there were baby animals." She looked up at them. "I don't even know if I want to stay here…but I don't want pity, I never did." She said. "I can take care of myself."

They all nodded.

"Alright, I'm feeling generous at the moment." Skipper said. "You two go back to your monster trucks." He told Charlie and Rico. "And Kowalski, go back to the lab. But I am not taking it easy on you tomorrow."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Kowalski said as the other two zipped back down. "Combat drills? I'll take you down, respectfully speaking."

"I respect that," Skipper said, "but it will be you who is going down."

"Down? Down where?" Julien asked, bounding into the habitat. "Is de weird girl gone?"

"She's gone, and none of your business."

"De wedding will be in two weeks." Julien said.

"Congratulations, I look forward to having a good time." Kowalski said.

"And I look forward to watching you crack and mess up everything." Skipper added.

Julien looked offended, and then he stalked away.

"Ah Ringtail, he takes everything too literally." Skipper said, shaking his head. "Maya would be four months old now, right?"

"Actually, too loosely," Kowalski said, "Yes, she was born back in April and now it's the middle of August."

"What the deuce? Where did summer go?"

"Well, we spent it and the rest of spring being chased by Blowhole, looking for your sister, training recruits and being betrayed. Anyway, I'm headed down; I'm working on the new plane." He saluted his leader and disappeared.

_Not much of summer left to enjoy._ Skipper thought. _Well, there were some good parts. _He remembered sharing a few moments with Marlene. _Speaking of Marlene…_

Marlene waved to him with a smile across her face.

Skipper grinned and flipped up over the fence and then jumped up onto the wall surrounding the otter habitat. He was about to say something when Josie interrupted.

"Sorry, but I just remembered something that Rocky told me." She said.

"Josephine, my sister left over a month ago." He said.

"I know, but it's important and it may help with whatever Kowalski is going through."

"Spill."

"She was looking online in Alice's computer the day that you helped Marlene tame her feral side and we came across an interesting piece of news. It was about an otter transfer a few weeks ago to the Bronx, this otter was the only surviving one on a whole riverbed of otters."

"Of course, Kowalski's friend!" Skipper said, "Thanks a lot; er…do you mind uh…"

She looked between Marlene and Skipper, grinned and returned to the penguin habitat.

"You have a lot on your mind." Marlene said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"That I do, my friend, that I do." The penguin responded.

"Skipper, is this about Rocky?"

Skipper sighed and plopped himself on the grass. "It's about the sake of my team."

"Meaning?" Marlene asked, lying down next to him.

"Kowalski needs his mother, who I have the vaguest idea who she might be, and his friends that he lost thirteen years ago and I just let Nat go to Hoboken. I know it was her choice but…there's obviously nothing I can do about Emma and if this otter is Izzy…he could have been in the city. But he's miles away from here in the Bronx and across the Harlem River."

"You could get him transferred here."

"I could…"

"What else is bothering you?"

"Rico hasn't' seen his sister or his father in years. Since Rocky came, Rico's been missing his sister."

"Rikki?"

"Yeah, and then there's Private."

"What about Private?"

"He has no idea that his father was a legend and a role model to many on the Force, including me…and his mother is protected. They all want to see their kids."

"And what about your mother?"

"All hidden in a safe location, though they had to calm her down first. She didn't like the idea of being holed up in a place for long. I get my stubbornness from her."

Marlene smiled.

"And then there's Johnson…"

"Jordan?"

"No, my former teammate, he's in that small safe village as well."

"Are you afraid of him?"

Skipper snorted, "Yeah right, I'm just wondering if I was too harsh on him and Manfredi…and I am also avoiding Jordan."

"Maybe you could go on another trip? We could cover for you."

"Even Alice couldn't possibly ignore four missing penguins."

"Then we'll get Dan and Tammy and whoever wants to help."

"Sure, though I'm not sure about Dan staying here unsupervised."

"I see how you would be suspicious, is there anything else bothering you?"

"I have a hunch, though I'm not sure if it's accurate…it's something I was thinking about a while ago."

Marlene waited.

"I think I've met Kowalski's mother." Skipper said. "When I was eleven, but the baby she brought wasn't Kowalski…"

"Who was it?"

"It was-"

"SKIPPER!" Private yelled suddenly, cutting across Skipper, "HELP!"

Skipper bolted out of there. "Sorry Marlene, another time." He said quickly as he left.

He sped past HQ where Rico and Kowalski had burst out and joined him.

"I told Charlie to stay there." Kowalski said.

Skipper nodded. "Private?! Where are you?"

"Over here!" Private was approaching the gates and looked like he was carrying a sack. "She's still alive."

"It's a live animal." Kowalski gasped.

The boys rushed her to their habitat and put her on an examination table that Kowalski had pulled out.

"It's dark, I can't see." Skipper said.

Rico found the lights and turned them on. The penguins let out loud gasps but only Skipper, Rico, Kowalski, and Private knew who it was.

Mats of tangled, dirty fur were shown in the light as well as blood coming from her side, she was unconscious.

"Nat…" Kowalski said, tears falling down his face.

Rico got the medical supplies and began working on helping her. He wiped up all the blood spots and wrapped bandages around Nat's waist. Then he pulled out a stinky shoe and waved it around her face.

She twitched, then coughed and tried to sit herself up but put her head back on the pillow. Then she gasped and began looking around frantically. "He's here…attacked me…he's alive…don't know how…I fought him off…it's so…he's dangerous…"

"Who?" Private asked in a whimper.

"Simon."

"I thought he was dead." Skipper said.

"The building collapsed on him and there was a fire, he couldn't have gotten out." Kowalski said.

"He did, he's joining Blowhole again." Nat groaned.

"Simon's not as bad as Koru." Charlie said. "Or is he? I never met the guy."

"Maybe not as bad, but he's still up there." Skipper growled. "I hope I'm the one who gets to destroy Koru."

Private looked worried, "But Skipper, that's-"

"I know what destroy means, Private!" Skipper snapped. "And do you deny that he deserves it?"

"I-I don't deny it." Private said softly. "What do we do now?"

"We take this to the top." He said. "Men, there's only one thing to do and I've been afraid of it for too long. We're going to Antarctica!"

"Yay!" Private cheered.

"Sorry Private, but this isn't a happy mission. We're telling Sarah about this, and we will put a stop to Blowhole's plan!" Skipper said. "How long until we're ready to fly?" he asked Kowalski.

"Assuming you don't want me to put in the seating and special features, approximately four days." Kowalski replied.

"Four days…I can't wait four days." Skipper groaned, "But if we have to, then fine."

"Can we call first?" Private asked, "I'm sure she'd like a call."

"Fine." He turned to Mikayla. "Why don't you go hang out with the lemurs?"

"Am I allowed to know what's going on?" she asked.

"Highly classified, we'd rather you didn't know." Skipper said.

"Fine." She said dejectedly, leaving the HQ.

"Sir, what about me?" Charlie asked.

Skipper waved his hand and began the call to the Antarctic Base.

The screen flashed on to reveal Jordan Johnson. "Oh it's you, what do you want?"

"Jordan, we're coming in four days and need penguins to take our place." Skipper said.

"You must be joking; there is no way you can come without proper authori-"

"An entire planet is at stake, I don't care for proper authorization." Skipper said furiously.

"Really? I'll have to make an appointment." She said in a bored tone.

"Jordan, what are you doing?" a voice asked from her end.

"Er, nothing…" Jordan said sheepishly.

"Move." A female penguin took her place, "Skipper? Haven't seen you in a while, how-"

"Sorry Tory, no time." Skipper said. "I need Sarah to know we're coming to base in four days."

"Okay." Tory said, marking it down, "What's the occasion?"

"An evil dolphin and a psychotic mad penguin are on the loose and their good agent Simon has rejoined them." Skipper said in one breath.

"Evil dolphin, got it. I can pencil you in for an anytime appointment." Tory said with a serious face.

"Does the end of the world mean nothing to you? There will be mayhem beyond our wildest dreams!" Kowalski said nervously, "And we could be facing planet wide shut down, we'll lose the sun and we can all die!"

"Calm down, I was only attempting to make light of the situation."

"IT DIDN'T HELP!" Kowalski screamed, running over to the television. "Don't you get it? We're all DOOMED!"

SMACK!

"Get a hold of yourself, soldier!" Skipper ordered. "Tory, we were planning to take our plane which can be underway in four days."

"Or we can pick you up in a helicopter at 0600 hours."

"But that's tomorrow morning!" Private said.

"Exactly." Tory said.

"We'll take it." Skipper told her, and then he turned to his team. "Kowalski, call an emergency meeting at the Zoovenir Shop; Rico, pack the necessities for our trip; Charlie, help him; and Private, take care of Nat."

He watched the boys follow his orders with a satisfied smile. Then he turned back to Tory.

"Tory, I'll need you to arrange the pickup and the cover for our disappearance."

"Roger that, how many?"

"Four penguins, the lemur isn't officially part of this zoo."

Tory nodded and left.

Skipper made sure that everything was going as planned before heading off to the Zoovenir shop. He watched as the grumbling animals gathered in the shop and waited for Skipper to speak.

"Penguin, you are interrupting my beauty sleep!" Julien complained.

"I should smack the lot of you!" Joey yelled.

"Is this really a good time?" Burt asked.

"Don't be silly, we're having a super fun sleepover!" Stacy said.

"Cool, bring out the arts and crafts!" Becky squealed, "We could make a-"

"QUIET!" Kowalski shouted over the noise. Everyone paused and looked at him. "Thank you. Skipper, you may speak now."

Skipper nodded to Kowalski, "Alright, most of the stuff is classified but you need to know that we penguins are leaving tomorrow morning."

"Why should we care?" Roy asked.

"You should care because, without the security of us penguins, the entire zoo could be in danger." Skipper said, immediately putting up a flipper for silence as everyone began speaking as soon as he had said danger. "Some friends of ours are coming to take our place and-"

"Why are we in danger?" Pinky the flamingo asked.

"Yeah, what's going on?" Leonard asked nervously.

"Why does this all lead back to you?" Maurice asked.

"Yeah, we want answers!" Roy demanded.

"Of course this is one of their secrety spy mission things!" Julien said.

Skipper sighed, how was he to explain this? They were going on journey to discuss to the General of the Antarctic Force how to deal with this new dilemma. Also they were going to find their families and knowing there would be an explosion of epic proportions if Kowalski and his father were to come in contact. And while dealing with family dramas the dilemma spoken of earlier could escalate into a full blown war between Blowhole and the Antarctic Force.

"Are we being tested?" Shelly asked.

"No, we just…uh…Kowalski, you want to take this one?" Skipper asked.

"You're the leader." Kowalski whispered, "I suggest trying to make it sound less worrisome than it actually is."

"It's a bit late for that." A voice came from the doorway.

"You?!" Kowalski, Skipper, Julien, Maurice, Marlene, and Josie said at the same time.

"Yes, it's me." Simon sneered. "Pretty baby by the way."

Josie clutched Maya closely.

Skipper growled, "Get out of my zoo before I say something that shouldn't be said in the company of young animals."

"You'll be wasting your time if you kill me." Simon said.

"Oh and how's that?" Kowalski asked furiously, "You don't seem to care who gets hurt around here. Why did you come back?"

"To tell you that you're all doomed," Simon cackled gleefully, "and our victory is inevitable. You can't harm us, so why don't you give up and surrender your scientist to us?"

"NEVER!" Kowalski yelled, "Why do you need me so badly?"

"Duh! You're the brains; a talent like yours is wasted here with these simpletons." Simon said.

"By order of the king which is me, get out!" Julien demanded.

Kowalski held up a flipper and walked over to Simon.

SMACK!

Kowalski glared at him. "Listen and listen good, I will never join you." he said. "My loyalty lies with Skipper and him alone."

Simon glared back, and then grinned. "We'll see about that." He said, and then he vanished into the darkness.

Skipper bolted outside and looked wildly around. "He's gone." He said bitterly. "That-"

"Skipper?" Marlene said, she was looking at him worriedly.

"I'll be alright, everyone go back to bed."

The others agreed and went off to bed; the only ones who stayed were Kowalski, Marlene, and Mikayla.

"It'll be alright." Marlene said. "One day, everything will be back to normal."

"It has to get worse before it gets better." Skipper said, staring up into the sky.

Kowalski was staring at the ground. _As if I could join them_. He thought angrily. _How dare Simon say that, how dare he come in here and…but what if he's right? I could be evil…come to think of it, I've been snappy and angry today…and lately I've not been myself…No, I couldn't be...Could I? Could I be destined to join the group that killed many, including Skipper's father and brothers? No. No, I am determined not to. I won't go there; I am in control of my own fate…_

"We'll be okay." Marlene said. "I like to keep up a vote of optimism. So, even if it gets worse, it has to get better sooner or later."

"A vote of optimism." Skipper said, "I'll keep that in mind. Alright, bedtime." He said, snapping Kowalski out of his thoughts.

Marlene waved to them and headed to her habitat.

The penguins headed back to HQ and wrapped things up. Nat was asleep on a stretcher and Private had fallen asleep in a chair next to her. Rico and Charlie were already asleep. Kowalski crawled into his bunk and resumed his thoughts after helping Skipper move Private in a bunk.

Skipper took an available bunk and waited for sleep to come to him. He heard Kowalski's snores a while later. Nat had woken up, taken a sip of water, and lay back down. Mikayla was awake and looking out the window.

"It's not your fault." Skipper said, making the girls jump. "What happened to either of you wasn't your fault. Nat, you were tricked. And Mikayla, what happened to you could have happened to anybody."

They nodded and Mikayla fell asleep soon after.

But Nat stayed awake, "I should have stopped them." She said, "I could have stopped Emma and Kowalski…"

"Something tells me that he would have gone anyway." Skipper said. "Even if you did manage to stop them, then what would have happened? Rico might not have been found."

Nat sighed, knowing he was right. "Good night, Flatty." She said.

Skipper rolled his eyes.

Soon, everyone except Skipper was asleep.

Skipper snuck out of the habitat and wandered to the top of the zoo clock. He took in the view, the animals were sleeping soundly, except for those nocturnal animals, and everything looked calm. He wondered if it would be the last time he'd see the place like this.

_Marlene's right_. He thought. _We just have to keep some optimism._

He yawned and headed back to bed, for the morning would be ripe with anticipation and nerves.


	22. 8,523 miles with a stowaway

Skipper woke up at 5:00 sharp the next morning to the silence that filled the room. During the night, Kowalski and Rico's snores had subsided into a gentle whistle. He got out of bed and looked around at them. Rico was lying on his side with his flipper behind his head. Kowalski was facing Skipper with his beak open. Private was on his stomach with his flipper hanging over the edge of the bunk. Charlie was facing away from Skipper with his feet in front of him. Nat was curled up on the stretcher and Mikayla was buried in her blanket.

He wondered how he should wake up the boys as he learned the previous morning, air horns were louder than he expected. He made some coffee and then walked around, making sure he had everything they would need for the trip. He put down his mug and walked over to Rico and nudged him awake.

Rico immediately jumped out of bed and looked around for the person who poked him, and then he spotted Skipper and peered at him with misty eyes.

"Sorry, I have to check that you packed everything." Skipper whispered. Rico yawned and nodded.

They both went up top where Rico hacked up everything he swallowed last night, except for dinner.

Skipper went through the various weapons and cans of fish and other things he thought they'd need.

"You have everything." Skipper said with a satisfied smile. "I'm guessing you're staying awake now?"

Rico nodded, he was already awake and there was no point in sleeping for forty minutes before they had to leave.

"I'll wake up Kowalski and Private twenty minutes before we leave." Skipper said.

Rico smiled and dove into the water for an early minute swim. Skipper shrugged and followed him. The water was cool and refreshing, causing Rico to fully awaken. Sometime after the swim, they decided to practice combat exercises.

It seemed so abrupt when twenty minutes had passed by. Skipper woke up Kowalski while Rico woke up Private. They were both startled to be woken up, but accompanied the other two anyway. Rico got breakfast ready for the four of them while Kowalski and Private swam to wake themselves up.

Skipper snuck over to the lemurs' habitat and took some fruit. He was only spotted by Maya who had woken up early; he simply smiled and put a flipper to his beak. Maya giggled and crawled to Josie's side where she stayed there, watching him leave. Skipper nodded to her and returned to his habitat.

Rico had woken up Nat and brought her up top as Skipper was returning.

Nat murmured thanks and began eating. The five of them ate their breakfast and left the zoo boundaries, now they waited for their ride.

Skipper was still debating internally whether he should say the two things that were weighing heavily on his mind. Both things concerned Kowalski, but one was also about Nat and the other was possibly about Private.

He decided to keep his suspicions about Kowalski's mother to himself for now, but if the Bronx had his otter friend…

"Private, Rico." Skipper said. Both boys turned to him. "Make sure the defenses are up and the instructions I left are in plain view and Kowalski's lab is locked."

They nodded and proceeded to follow his order.

Kowalski gave his leader a questioning look, "Skipper, why-"

"I have news that concerns the both of you." He said, "I think, and I am hoping I am correct, I know the location of your friend, Izzy."

Nat jumped up and Kowalski looked at Skipper with wide eyes.

"How? When did you hear this? Where is he?" Nat asked, looking around as if he would pop up out of nowhere.

"Could it be true?" Kowalski asked, "The long search for our friend is over?"

"Possibly," Skipper said. "I heard it from Josie last night. Apparently Rocky had stumbled across a news article about a river full of otters. There was only one surviving otter that was transferred to the Bronx zoo."

"The Bro- THE BRONX?!" Kowalski yelled, "He could have been near us the entire time!"

"We have to find him." Nat said.

"Now hold up there," Skipper said, "What about our current mission?"

"Skipper, I have been separated from my friends for thirteen years." Kowalski said. "Those three were the only things keeping me from leaving the place. And once Izzy was taken and Emma had died, we were broken. Skipper, please allow us to see Izzy."

Nat nodded in agreement, both of them were looking at Skipper with fierce determination

Skipper hesitated. "I suppose I could convince Byron to make a stop there…if he's flying the helicopter…but if it's someone else…it will be hard. If we can't, then I promise I will get him transferred to Central Park, no matter what."

"Get who transferred to Central Park?" Private asked, coming up behind them with Rico. "All secure, sir."

"Good and we were talking about Izzy." Skipper said. "He may be in the Bronx."

"Oh goody, I get to meet another one of Kowalski's friends!" Private said.

"Maybe." Skipper said.

"What?" Private shouted. A whirlwind noise came from above.

Everyone looked up to see the helicopter descending down upon them.

"MOVE IT!" Skipper shouted, and they all scattered.

The noise stopped and the wind died down as the helicopter landed. Out stepped Byron Kent who looked as childish as ever.

"Hey, how's it going?" He said, looking at the penguins that just began to pick themselves back up. "What happened?"

"What happened? WHAT HAPPENED? YOU HAPPENED!" Kowalski yelled.

"You almost squished us!" Private said.

"Don't you know how to land that thing?" Skipper said.

"Don't sweat it," Tory said, emerging from the helicopter, "I've been wondering that for years."

Skipper saluted her, "Who's covering for us?"

"That would be me, Byron, Dan and-"

"RICO!" a voice squealed from inside. A black and white blur streaked across the grass and attached itself to Rico's head.

"Hey!" Rico shouted, trying to throw her off.

"Hi!" Tammy squealed.

"Cadet Tammy, get back here." Tory ordered.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Tammy said, zipping to Tory's side.

"Hi, Tammy." Kowalski said.

"Cadet Tammy, do you ever learn?" Skipper asked.

"Sometimes, sir!" She said. "Hey, where's Charlie?"

"In bed, don't wake him up…or do wake him up, for training."

"And what happened to-"

"NO! THAT NAME SHALL NOT BE MENTIONED!" Kowalski growled harshly.

"Uh, I don't remember him being that mean."

"No, but I remember him being strange," Dan said, coming out and rubbing his head, "and too smart."

"Yeah, hi to you too." Skipper said, "He's not mean, trust me. Anyway, who's flying this thing back to Antarctica?"

"That would be us." A female penguin waved from inside.

"That's Sam." Tory said, "She's new to my team."

And next to Sam was…

"No." Skipper said, though not as loud as Kowalski's, it was still defiant.

"You want a lift to Antarctica or not?" Jordan asked.

Skipper gave a highly agitated groan. "Fine." He said.

Kowalski, Rico, Private and Nat hopped in the helicopter while Skipper briefed Tory on what was currently happening. He told her that there was a new penguin and that Charlie knew all his training drills and that Marlene was approved to visit.

"Marlene!" He gasped. "I'll be right back."

He ran to the otter habitat just as Marlene was waking up.

"Skipper?" She mumbled sleepily.

"Marlene, I have to go now." He said. "But in case I don't make it back…I wanted you to know…" He took a deep breath. "I like you…a lot."

Marlene smiled and gave him a hug. "I like you too." She gave him a kiss. "Don't be late now."

"I won't." He kissed her and left.

When he arrived on the helicopter, he waved away any questions regarding his abrupt exit and smiled to himself.

"Alright," Sam said, "let's get this show on the road! Or the air, since we're flying."

"Er…question." Private said.

"Shoot, little dude." Sam said.

"We're in a helicopter; flying to Antarctica in broad daylight…won't someone be bound to notice?" Private asked.

"Yeah, that's a good point." Kowalski said. "Technically, someone could be tailing us."

"That's what this comes in handy for." Jordan said, pushing a button near her.

"I don't get it." Private said, looking around for something to happen.

"A cloaking device?" Kowalski asked.

Jordan nodded as they began to rise from the ground.

"Hey, could you make a stop at the Bronx zoo?" Skipper asked.

"You cannot be serious." Jordan growled. "We are to transport you to Antarctica and nowhere else."

"But it's important to-"

"Shut up." Jordan said.

"Now Jo, we can be reasonable." Sam said. "Why do you need to go to the Bronx?"

"We're not going." Jordan said.

"We need to find my friend." Nat said. "I know he's out there somewhere, and I need to check the Bronx zoo."

"We're not going on a wild goose chase." Jordan hissed angrily.

"But the odds that he is there based on a researched article are-"

"We. Are. Not. GOING!" Jordan said, cutting across Kowalski. "Am I clear?"

"Jordan." Skipper sighed. "Please rethink-"

"No more talking about this subject." She said. "And no more talking from you."

"You can't make me-"

"Watch me." She growled.

Skipper groaned. "You still can't get over what happened, can you?"

"No." Jordan snapped.

"Maybe we can see Hunter." Private said eager for a change in subject.

"Hunter?" Sam asked.

"My friend, she lives in Antarctica." Private chirped with a smile.

"And she's a leopard seal." Kowalski added.

Jordan swiveled around dangerously. "You let him befriend a LEOPARD SEAL?! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!" She bellowed to Skipper.

"ME?!" Skipper yelled. "I WAS AGAINST IT!"

"Sure you were." Jordan snarled, "That explains why your team is constantly in danger, by befriending dangerous creatures."

"But Roger's alright and he's an alligator." Private said. He immediately realized he had said the wrong thing, for Skipper had groaned again and Jordan looked like she was about to explode. "But honestly, we know a nice dolphin." Again, he looked to Kowalski who had turned three shades of pink. "Barry's-" His beak was immediately covered by Rico.

"Would you classify Rico as dangerous?" Skipper asked. "He's a fellow penguin with unusual psychotic regurgitating skill, is he a dangerous creature?"

"Well he is dangerous, but-"

"SO your point is," Skipper said loudly, "that we should not be friends with those who are dangerous? You're dangerous with knowledge of everything we have learned. All of us are dangerous, including General Kent. Now, you want to tell her that you think she's just a dangerous creature?" He smirked.

Jordan immediately turned a deeper shade of pink than Kowalski. She glared at Skipper and sat in her chair, facing away from him.

"Now, we relax for eight thousand five hundred and twenty three miles." Private said, hoping Skipper wouldn't start shouting again. "You really should take care of your voice." He told his leader.

Skipper gave him a small nod and stared out the window. He wondered how his mother would react upon his arrival. She'd probably congratulate him for raising a great team and scold him for the trouble he'd gotten himself into.

Private took the moment to think about how excited he would be to see his mother for the first time since he was only a day old. He wanted her to tell him everything about his dad and how they met and what she'd been doing for the past seventeen years.

Rico was excited to see his dad and show him his amazing regurgitating skill. And he couldn't wait to see his sister again. He wondered if they both liked dynamite.

Kowalski dreaded seeing his father, but he had to go with his team and help strategize for the battles ahead. He wished he and Nat could have stayed behind to find Izzy.

A few minutes later found Private and Nat fast asleep. Rico was checking out the weapons system up front, and Kowalski and Skipper were discussing the plans for when they got to Antarctica.

"What was that noise?" Jordan asked suddenly.

Kowalski and Skipper looked up. "I didn't hear anything." They said.

Jordan held her flipper up for silence, listening carefully. The noise came again; it was a small scuffling noise.

"It's coming from the back." Kowalski said. "Should I check it out?"

Skipper nodded, "I'll come too."

They both entered the back of the helicopter which was crammed with parachutes and extra artillery.

"You take the right, I'll take the left." Skipper said.

"Alright." Kowalski began searching his side. About a minute later, he shifted a box and groaned. "Oh good golly…"

Skipper walked over and looked on the other side of the box where he found-

"Ringtail?!"

"Ehehe, nice place you got here." Julien said nervously, "Could use some of de air condition."

"How did you-? When did you-? You were asleep!" Skipper said. "I saw you sleeping."

"Yeah, but I decided to play with de boomy box." He said. "And I saw the vomity one leave your home so I sneaky sneaked out."

"And you decided to see what we were doing." Kowalski said. "Why were you sneaking around in the first place?"

"Hey, a king needs to know everything that happens in his kingdom." Julien said.

Skipper grabbed Julien and pulled him out, "We have unwanted cargo." He said. "Let's head back to the zoo."

"But we'll be delayed if we go back now." Sam said. "Besides, we can let you guys off and then take him back home."

"And risk this civilian knowing our secrets, I don't think so." Jordan said.

"Julien?" Private said, yawning, "What are you doing here?"

"Crashing de party!" He shouted, waking up Nat.

"Maybe we should shoot him out of a cannon." Skipper said.

"He could come with us." Private said. "What harm could he do?"

"Private, please," Kowalski scoffed, "This is Julien we're talking about."

"We could leave him in the village, there are only families being kept safe there." Skipper said.

Jordan considered this, "Fine, but someone has to stay with him."

"I'll do it," Sam said, "I was going there anyway."

"Hey, let's crank up de tunes!" Julien said, "I am de party king!"

"One more word and you'll be a departing king…" Jordan growled, "And I don't mean from the helicopter."

"You can't deny de king has style!" Julien said, "A mad rhythm to rock the streets, now give me a beat!"

"Oh, I will." Jordan muttered.

"Okay, he may not be able to pick up the subtle threats, but I can." Skipper said, "And I say that you can't threaten him, that's my job."

"And mine," Nat said, grinning, "Hello Julien."

Julien looked at her. "You…why are you here on this plane?" he asked.

"It's a helicopter, genius." Nat said, "And that is none of your business."

"Who invited her?!" Julien demanded angrily.

"Who invited you?" Nat snapped back.

"I am de king, I don't need an invitation." Julien said. "Shouldn't you be somewhere else, like AS FAR AWAY FROM ME AS POSSIBLE?!"

"Stuff it in your crown, or whatever that jumble of leaves on your head is."

Julien was about to retort when he saw her bandaged. "What happened?" he asked.

"Why do you care, you hate me, remember?" Nat snarled.

"Only because you hate me and you fail to recognize me as your king." Julien said.

"Stop." Kowalski said, "Can we make a truce? At least until we get back to New York."

The two lemurs glared at each other.

"Okay, I being the bigger lemur will be nice to you, non-royal lemur until we get back to my kingdom." Julien said with a tone of exasperation.

Nat bared her teeth. "Fine, but only because Kowalski asked me to."

"Why do you listen to de smarty penguin?" Julien asked.

"Because he's my best friend." Nat said, crossing her arms and looking determinedly away from him.

A few minutes of awkward silence passed until Sam agreed to play a little background music for Julien to dance to.

"What song is this?" Private asked.

"I don't recollect the name of the song, but the band is the Doors." Kowalski said, "I believe their lead singer was Jim Morrison."

"Aw yeah!" Sam said, "Jim Morrison for DAYS!"

"Don't ask." Jordan said, eyeing Private's puzzled expression.

"I love him…" she said with a dreamy expression.

Kowalski sighed, "He's human, and he's been dea-"

"You don't think I know that?!" She said.

"Sorry, keep driving." He laughed nervously

"Dancing is fun!" Julien said, "Hey, fishy smelling penguins, JOIN ME!"

"Fishy smelling penguins?" Jordan asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I know, he's always like this." Skipper said, trying to make light conversation.

Jordan scowled, "I am not talking to you." she said. "I don't even want to be here, but I was ordered and I follow orders because I know where my priorities are."

"Are you implying that I don't sort out my priorities?" Skipper asked angrily.

"Why yes, I am." Jordan said. "You care more about your personal feelings than the mission ahead."

"If you're talking about him," he pointed to the dancing Julien, "I told you we should double back. I know the mission and I will not have him disrupting it."

"Disrupt?" Julien said in a hurt voice.

"Shut it, insignificant lemur." Jordan said, "And I don't care what you think, Skipper. I think I have made that clear."

"You're just confirming that I was right, he should have gone back." Skipper said. "You're complaining about him even when I suggested we turn back and deposit him in the zoo."

"Why does this matter?"

"Because you're bringing it up!"

"Fine, he can come with us, just make sure he stays out of trouble."

"Tha- THAT"S EXACTLY WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING!"

"STOP SHOUTING!"

"STOP PROVOKING ME!"

"I wish you would die."

Everyone was silent. Even Julien stopped dancing to stare at Jordan in shock.

"You don't mean that." Kowalski said.

"Oh, I do." Jordan growled.

Nat shook her head, "Kowalski's right, you don't mean it."

"And what makes you think that?" Jordan asked irritably.

"Because, you hate Skipper as much as I hate Julien." Nat responded. "Even I wouldn't wish for him to die. I might hate him for different reasons than what happened between you and Skipper, but I would NEVER suggest death-"

"SHUT UP!" Jordan screamed, "You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Yeah, and it's like Mort touching my feet, I hate him for that," Julien said, "but the little guy is so much fun to kick and he does whatever I tell him, I think I'll keep him around."

"That's completely beside the point."

"No it's not." Private said, "You see, we shouldn't do this to each other. We're all on the same side here; I think it's time you worked it out. Anyway, isn't it Johnson who has a problem with Skipper? He and Manfredi are the ones who should be mad, not you. You don't have to hate him just because your brother does."

"Private, stop." Skipper said. "It's noble what you're trying to do, but she won't change her mind. Some things can't be changed, if she hates me then so be it, I can turn the other way. "

"But sir, it's not fair-"

"I know, but life isn't fair. There will always be those who judge others on what they have done in the past." He looked at Nat. "And some may be forgiven, granted it takes a while, but eventually they can be trusted again. But others," he switched his gaze to the back of Jordan's chair as she turned around again, "others find it hard to forgive those who have hurt them or close friends or siblings of theirs."

"How badly was Johnson hurt?"

"It wasn't just him and Manfredi, it was her." Skipper sighed. "I broke up with her after Manfredi and Johnson split from the team. I couldn't bear to tell her the truth so I ran, I left her behind and she never forgave me for it."

Julien began dancing again and everyone else resumed their own thoughts.

Skipper pat Private on the back.

"We're here." Sam said. "The safe village is straight ahead."

"Where?" Private asked.

Skipper pointed at a spot nestled in a valley of icy mountains. It looked like there were many lumps on the mountain, but they were neatly carved ice homes.

The helicopter descended upon a small hill on the outskirts of the village. Sam and Julien exited and waved as the others took off.

"Are you sure she's not going?" Jordan asked, indicating Nat.

"She has to tell Sarah what she witnessed," Skipper said, "And there are pretty good medics there."

Rico glared reproachfully.

"Aw, come on, you honestly don't think that I view you as incompetent?" Skipper asked, "I said pretty good, and you're amazing."

Rico smiled.

Skipper wondered if it was the right decision to leave Julien there, but now they were getting ready to enter the secret base which was a little farther inland.

Without Julien, it was quieter but still awkward.

"Skipper, I think we're close." Kowalski said.

"You would be right." Skipper said. "There's a cloaking device on the village and on the base. We're entering the cloaking zone so we should be able to see it soon."

And sure enough, they saw a building that seemed to materialize in front of them. It was large and gray. There were smaller buildings around it and some training grounds. The buildings looked like they were made of stone.

Private and Nat gasped in amazement.

"Ah, memories." Kowalski said.

"Yeah." Rico said.

Skipper grinned, "Welcome to the Antarctic Force Base." He said.


	23. Surprises and meetings

"Whoa, it's brilliant." Private said as they began their descent.

Jordan landed the plane smoothly on the red markings that were painted on the top of the biggest building.

The penguins stepped out into the cold Antarctic air. Nat began shivering as soon as she stepped off. "You m-may be c-con-conditioned f-for th-the c-cold, b-b-but I-I'm f-freezing." She shivered.

"I'll take you to our infirmary." Jordan said blankly.

"Rico will join you." Skipper said.

Jordan didn't argue, so Skipper took that as a yes. Rico accompanied the two of them down the stairs and around the left corridor to the infirmary.

Skipper, Kowalski, and Private headed downstairs and to the right. Through the window, they caught a glimpse of the training grounds where a team was practicing their drills.

"Cool." Private said, pressing his face to the glass. "It's amazing…" he said.

Skipper couldn't help but smile.

"Can we see the old lab?" Kowalski asked excitedly.

"Sure, go ahead." Skipper said, "Do you remember where it is?"

"I think so." Kowalski said. "I'll just follow the smell of science!" He took off before Skipper had the chance to ask what he meant by that last statement.

"Hey, Private," Skipper said, "I'm going into that room for a second."

Private glanced back to see Skipper pointing to a door at the end of the hall, the younger penguin nodded and resumed watching the training team.

Skipper entered the room and looked around; it was the same as he'd left it. There were four beds in it and a lot of dust and dirt that had gathered in the years since he left. He looked behind a bed to see the word 'Kaboom' etched into the stone wall. A burnt smell still lingered from a firework vs. dynamite show that almost caught the whole place on fire. He smiled and looked around some more, the room looked badly in need of a scrub down, but it was still standing.

He went over to another bed and pulled back a sheet to see the bluish-gray stain of a chemistry experiment gone wrong. He smiled at the memory of a certain penguin that stayed awake trying to perfect it, only to find that he had fallen asleep and it stained his bed sheets and his feathers. Fortunately, all the liquid had done was act as a conditioner and made the feathers glossy and smooth. The feathers eventually fell out and were replaced with new ones, but the stain was there to stay.

He approached the smallest bed with fondness. It had barely been used for three years before being vacated forever. It contained the long forgotten remnants of candy that had been snuck in. A few ants were looking over it determinedly.

Skipper walked over to the last bed, pulled back the sheets and yelped. Heart racing, he took a closer look and laughed. He had made a realistic looking heart and covered it in dark red food coloring to startle the next person to enter the room.

"I guess I targeted myself." He chuckled to himself, fixing the covers again.

He sighed, it had been a long time, but he still remembered the trouble that he and Rico had gotten into and how Kowalski was almost always the target for pranks. But then it stopped being fun when Kowalski caught on and began to be cautious.

Then Private came at the age of ten and the pranks slowed to a stop. The little guy did his best to train before they were relocated to New York. Private had his first mission when he was almost thirteen, then Manfredi and Johnson split from the team. Skipper didn't like to think about them much, he knew he'd have to face them sooner or later, and he'd rather choose later. He thought about how he had taught Private different ways to communicate with Zander and to not get screamed at as much, not that that had successfully worked.

A yell interrupted his thoughts.

"INTRUDER!"

"No, I'm not, I swear!" Private's voice squeaked.

Skipper burst out to see Private being cornered by a rough looking penguin who had a scar across his chest.

"Stop!" Skipper said, "He's with me." Private sighed in relief.

The penguin looked at Skipper, "Who are you?"

"Aw come on, Manny, you can't tell me you don't remember?" Skipper said with a hint of a smile.

"Aye, I do remember." The older penguin said. "Percy, was it?"

Skipper turned beet red immediately. "I have no idea what you mean," he said loudly, "my name is Skipper!"

"You sure? I thought it was Percy Jo-"

"SKIPPER!" Skipper yelled defiantly, turning deeper shades of red.

"Alright, alright." Manny said, "Hang on; you're the little guy…Andre, right? I heard about you from Seamus."

"Yeah, they call me Private now. Who's Seamus?" Private asked, relieved that Manny wasn't about to kill him.

"He works in the science lab; he used to work with Kowalski. I suppose you heard of him?"

"Yeah, he's on our team." Private said happily.

"Good for you, Andre." Manny said, "Now I'll be off, time to see if I've been eating too many of those fried fish sticks."

"You have fish sticks?" Private asked.

"Yup, them cooks like to dabble in different recipes." He motioned for Private to come closer, "Just don't taste the fish surprise." He whispered. "For you, it may be the last thing you ever do."

Private gulped.

"Anyway, catch you two later!" Manny said. "Have a good day Andre and Percy!"

"It's Skipper!" Skipper called after him.

"So, Perc-"

"Don't." Skipper snapped.

"Sorry." Private said, trying to conceal his giggles. "What does he mean by the last thing I'll ever do?"

"Fish surprise…" Skipper shuddered, "To the soldier untrained in food consumption, it's a never ending meeting with the toilet."

"Er, may I ask-"

"It could come out either end, but it's coming out no matter what and it's not going to be pretty. And those who actually managed to not throw it up had diarrhea because their systems just couldn't take it." Skipper said. "Rico is the only soldier in history who has managed to keep it down and in until he's finished digesting it and not become sick from it at all."

"What's in it?"

"That's just it, no one knows. Well, besides the cooks, but they're not going to tell us. It seems to help soldiers though."

"How?"

"They think they're tough until they get a load of it, then they humble themselves. Every year there's at least one who thinks they can keep it down, but they're usually proven wrong about half an hour later."

"Have you ever tried keeping it down?"

"Once," Skipper said, "I thought I could handle it, but after three hours it came back up. The pain wasn't so bad that time, but I was still disappointed that I couldn't keep it down like Rico. I honestly think he liked that stuff. See?"

He pointed to Rico who was walking up the hall with a bowl in his flippers. He smiled as he joined his two teammates. Private looked in the bowl and gagged. The smell was awful and it looked like someone had dropped it on the ground. It was gray and lumpy with unidentifiable chunks in it.

"We think it might be fish." Skipper said. He looked disgusted as Rico took another bite of it. "And I forgot to mention that some even throw up at the smell of it."

Rico gulped the rest of it down and ate the bowl.

"How do you do it?" Private asked.

Rico pointed to his mouth and said, "In."

"I know you put it in, but how do you keep it down?"

Rico shrugged indifferently.

"I don't think that he knows." Skipper said. "This is one of those mysteries about Rico that have to stay a mystery."

"And how is it that I avoided it when I was here?"

"Well, you weren't here for very long but I tried to keep you as young and innocent as the first day I met you. Fish surprise can ruin you if you're not willing to muscle through it. I suppose it's because I had a soft spot for you and didn't want to subject you to the horrors that can come from the kitchen."

Private giggled.

"Alright, I think we should go get Kowalski before he's stuck in geek land." Skipper said.

The other two nodded and followed Skipper through the different pathways of the base.

"OH BABY! I have missed you!" Kowalski's voice echoed.

Private's eyes widened.

"Say wha'?" Rico said.

Skipper motioned for the two of them to stay while he walked towards the iron doors of the science lab.

"It's you and me, I LOVE YOU!" Kowalski shouted.

Rico covered Private's eyes while Skipper entered.

Skipper's concerned expression turned to hilarity. He was bent double with laughter. Rico removed his flippers from Private's head and laughed too.

"Er, Kowalski." Private said, "Is there a reason you're hugging that microwave?"

Kowalski spun around to face his team. "I…er…it's not a microwave!" He said defensively, his face turning bright pink. "It was one of the first inventions I made while I was here."

"And did this one blow up too?" Private asked.

"No sir, it did NOT!" Kowalski said proudly. "I do not have a name for it and I…never figured out what it did…"

Skipper managed to stop laughing, but kept the smile on his face. "It turned everything within a five mile radius a bright orange."

"It was meant to perform as a chameleon would." Kowalski said. "It just got stuck on the color orange."

"Yeah, blame the invention." Skipper said, rolling his eyes. "Come on, we have to see Sarah now."

"Can we make sure everyone at the zoo is okay?" Private asked as they left the lab.

"I'm sure they're fine, Private." Kowalski said, "We've only been gone for four hours."

"Well, it can't hurt to check." Skipper said, thinking of Marlene. "We'll call them later."

"Where's Nat?" Kowalski asked.

"She'll meet us in Sarah's office."

"Am I allowed to call her Sarah?"

"I don't see why not, but we better exercise caution and refer to her as General Kent."

"Is Zander going to be there?"

"WHO LET THIS CIVILIAN IN OUR TOP SECRET BASE?!" A voice yelled.

"Who let you question why I'm here?!" Nat's voice retorted back.

"Oh no." Kowalski groaned.

"That would be a yes." Skipper said, spotting Nat crossing her arms and glaring at the penguin.

Zander turned to face them. "How did I know it would be you maggots?" he growled. "I suppose this belongs to you?" He said, pointing to Nat.

"She. I'm a SHE as in GIRL." Nat said.

The door nearest them opened and a female penguin came out, "I think it's only fair to warn you that we can hear everything you're saying." She said.

"We know." Skipper said.

"You look familiar." Private said, "I can't quite place my flipper on it."

"Let me give you a hint, I own this place." She said with a smile.

"Sarah? Oops, I mean Mrs. Kent…I mean Miss General Kent sir ma'am." Private said nervously.

"Don't worry kiddo, I don't bite." She said. "Nice to see you again." She said to the team.

"Always a pleasure." Kowalski said.

Rico grinned and regurgitated some flowers.

"So, shall we enter your office?" Skipper asked.

Sarah nodded and invited them in. The office was relatively large with a long table in the middle of it and a desk behind it. The desk had a phone and stacks of paper on it. The only other penguins there were Johnny Bone and another penguin that was ready with a pencil and a notepad.

"This is Kina Benson." Sarah said, "She's my new secretary."

Kina nodded with a serious face.

"So do you only have penguin operatives?" Nat asked.

"No, we have other animals, but they work in different parts of the world." Sarah said.

"That's classified information!" Zander growled.

"Relax, that wasn't a classified question." Sarah said, "Alright, what are the reasons you have come?"

"To inform you that Blowhole has one more soldier rejoining his ranks." Skipper said. "But first, I have to warn you that we had a stowaway. It's Julien from the zoo, he's a lemur. But he's in the village with Sam right now."

"I suppose he couldn't do much harm there."

"ARE YOU KIDDING?!" Zander shouted, "ANOTHER CIVILIAN?!"

"Well, he's a king." Kowalski squeaked.

Zander shot him a glare.

"Self proclaimed really…I'll be quiet now."

"Who has joined Blowhole?" Sarah asked as if there hadn't been an interruption.

"Simon." Skipper said.

"What?!" She gasped, "I thought he was-"

"So did we, but he attacked Nat and-"

"How did she come into the picture?"

"Well-"

"It's my fault." Nat said. "I led them to the penguins and betrayed my true friends."

"I don't understand." Sarah said, but Nat seemed too distressed to continue and merely tugged a blanket tighter to her body.

"She was forced to work for them under the threat of destroying a place that was home to many otters, including our best friend." Kowalski said. "She was supposed to get rid of us or get us captured."

"I've got it on file." Skipper said, reaching inside Rico's mouth. There was a clanking noise, the squeak of a rubber duck, and a squishing sound that made Skipper wince and he pulled out the file. The file looked undamaged and nothing from Rico's gut was on it.

He passed it to Sarah who looked it over and nodded, completely unfazed by the fact that it came from Rico's stomach.

"I see." She said. "Nat, you have done these terrible things," Nat sunk in her chair. "But, you redeemed yourself by saving them."

"It was Rico and Kowalski…I did nothing." Nat mumbled, sinking lower.

"On the contrary, you came to us today. You have valuable information." Sarah said.

"No I don't." She was almost on the floor, having sunk to the bottom of her chair.

"You have information on what their next plans may be. And you know a bit about their technology."

"A little."

"And who their agents are so we can avoid incidents such as the one that happened with N-"

"DON'T SAY IT!" Kowalski yelled, attracting everyone's attention. He blushed furiously and ran out of the room. Nat jumped straight in her chair.

"I apologize for him." Skipper said.

"I probably should have seen that coming." Sarah said apologetically.

"Yes you should." Private said before he could stop himself.

Both Sarah and Skipper opened their mouths.

"HOW DARE YOU TALK TO YOUR SENIOR OFFICER LIKE THAT!" Zander shouted, making the smaller penguin's eyes well up with tears.

"DON'T SHOUT AT HIM!" Skipper snapped.

"Do I have to inform you that I am ALSO your senior officer?" Zander hissed.

"Senior Officer of LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

Zander jumped out of his chair and tackled Skipper to the ground. Skipper punched the bigger penguin and slid out from under him. They both stared at each other angrily with raised flippers.

"ENOUGH!" Johnny shouted, he had been silent the entire time and now he was glaring at the two fighting penguins.

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Private, go find Kowalski." She said coolly.

Private nodded, saluted Skipper and the General, and left as fast as his webbed feet could carry him.

"Sit down, boys." Sarah ordered.

Skipper grumbled and sat down, determined not to look at Zander.

"There we go, all better?" Johnny said.

"Bone, we are not a bunch of three year olds." Zander snapped.

"Well a couple of three year olds would fight like that instead of behaving like civilized penguins." Johnny said coldly.

Skipper looked ashamed. "I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted." Zander said.

"Not to you." Skipper said forcefully, "To everyone else in the room."

"I suggest the two of you stop talking immediately and pay attention to the matter at hand." Sarah said, she didn't sound very calm now. "Rico, send Kowalski and Private back in. I- hold on." The phone on her desk rang. "Hello? Yes, this is Kent."

The room was silent while Sarah listened on the other end. She nodded occasionally, her eyebrows lowering into a confused look, and then she smiled in amusement.

"I see, thank you for telling me this. Well, I suppose I'll have to cut this meeting short." She said as she hung up the phone. "A certain lemur is causing trouble in a certain village."

"Ringtail." Skipper groaned.

"Bone will take you there. I'll meet you there tomorrow, there's some business that I have to take care of." She replied.

"Why does Ringtail always interrupt something?" Skipper asked Rico. Rico shrugged. "EVERY time…every time…"

"Uh, hello." Kowalski said, peeking his head in. "Am I missing something?"

"Yeah, I'll explain it on the way." Skipper said, still irritated. He signaled for his men to follow.

"Is it Julien?" Kowalski asked.

Skipper looked surprised. "How did you-"

"Reasonable assumption. I assume the meeting will continue."

"The meeting was a complete disaster." Skipper scowled.

"Not exactly. She knows the threat is larger now."

"We know absolutely nothing about Blowhole's plans."

"If only we had an agent in there."

"Do you mind if I talk to Sarah before we go?"

Rico shook his head.

"Go ahead." Private said.

"We'll be fi-"

"I want you to come with me."

Kowalski was stunned, but followed his leader's request. They made their way back in the direction of the office while Private and Rico wandered around, trying to find their way back to the helicopter.

"We were barely here." Private pouted.

"Uh, okay." Rico said, patting the younger one on the back. He didn't know how to respond, but he knew how excited he was to see his dad and his sister again. "Family." He croaked.

Private grinned. "Yeah, you're right! I get to see my mum!" he squealed gleefully. "Maybe I'll ask Skipper's mum about his real name. Did you know Skipper was his nickname?"

Rico shook his head, mildly interested in the story of the leader's name.

"Everyone knew that, even if they didn't admit it." Johnny said, causing the two to jump. "By the way, the exit's that way." He pointed behind them. "Unless you wanted to explore the training grounds, I was on my way there."

"Sorry, but these guys have to go to the safe village." Jordan said grumpily, having approached them from behind as well. "That annoying raccoon is messing things up."

"He's a lemur." Private said. "And he's…not that bad…honest, he could be worse. I like to look for the best in others. Julien's helped us out a fair few times. He won a hockey match against some sewer rats and their mutant leader."

"I don't care. He's interfered with an important meeting. He should be court marshaled."

"He's a civilian to us." Johnny said. "And besides, he sounds harmless and childish to me."

"He's an idiotic buffoon."

"But he's our friend…sort of." Private said.

"Can you really trust your friends?" Jordan said. "Skipper included?"

"Yes I most certainly can!" Private said.

"Yeah!" Rico said indignantly.

"Well I feel sorry for you, he abandons people."

"He didn't abandon me." Private said. "He's cared about me since I was a baby."

"And he left you to drown in Canada."

"That was Manfredi and Johnson!"

"DON'T YOU DARE BLAME MY BROTHER!"

Private was shaking with anger now. "HE HATED ME THE ENTIRE TIME! YOU MUST KNOW-"

"YOU KNOW NOTHING!" Jordan bellowed.

"Must we fight?" Johnny said. "Calm down. Private, you look a little pink." He said, eyeing the ends of the pale white feathers.

"That's due to a Kowalski experiment." Private said, looking away from Jordan. "And Skipper does care about me even if you don't."

Jordan huffed and stalked off.

"Don't mind her she's just letting off steam."

"I could cook dinners for years and power trains all over the world with the steam she's letting off." Private muttered.

Johnny laughed.

"We better get going." Private said, turning to Rico. "We wouldn't want to be missed."

Rico nodded and led the way back to the helicopter with help from some animals passing by. The boys found the roof and stepped back out into the coldness of Antarctica. Nat soon joined them, followed by a grim looking Kowalski and a stern looking cat on her hind legs.

The cat nodded curtly and climbed into the helicopter.

Skipper came out with a blank look on his face. The sound of pattering feet reached his ear holes. Everyone looked around once it stopped.

"Hold it!" A squeaky voice said.

Everyone directed their attention to the ground.

"Aww, he's so cute!" Private said. "Hello little hamster, you're so-"

"First of all, it's gerbil. Second, I am not cute. And third, what are you all doing here?"

"Presley," Skipper said, "Don't you remember me?"

"I don't know…" Presley said, scratching his furry head.

"They're with me." The cat said, emerging from the door of the helicopter.

"Juno." Presley said, "Didn't see you there."

"Of course you didn't."

"Is Sam with you?" Presley asked, looking around suddenly.

"No." Juno said, "Come, we better get going." She said to the four penguins and Nat.

Presley muttered something about being catty and watched them pile in.

"You have hamsters on the force?" Private asked once they were inside.

"GERBIL!" Presley screamed.

"How did he-?"

"He has a great sense of hearing to make up for poor eyesight." Juno explained. "And yes, we gather any and all animals we can on our side. A small guy like him could get easily hurt, but he beats many when it comes to speed. He has the agility of ten mice, but he has the ego the size of a blue whale."

"Yeesh, that's big." Nat said. The helicopter began to rise.

"Speaking of blue whales, we have one on our force. And a few fish, I think."

"Really?" Nat and Private asked at the same time. Rico seemed mildly interested. Skipper was staring at the back of the chair, it was unclear whether he was listening or not. Kowalski was staring blankly out the window, not paying attention to the conversation or the passing icy hills.

"Last I heard, the whale was somewhere in the pacific where the tourists go whale watching."

"Isn't he afraid that he'll get killed by hunters?" Private asked.

"He's willing to take the risk. The undersea creatures have good connections with the web of relations around Blowhole."

"Are the fish afraid of you and the penguins?" Nat asked.

A small smile played at the corner of Juno's whiskered face. "I suppose, but I don't dare touch them. I mostly eat cat food. We only have one truly reliable fish that isn't afraid of any of us. In contrast, we're a bit frightened of him."

"Why?"

"He's a grey reef shark." Juno said.

Private gasped and Nat stared wide-eyed at her.

"He's in the Philippines, I think, and he wouldn't hurt us. Apparently, General Kent found him as a young shark and took care of him. He owes her his loyalty. He's loyal to all of us as long as you present yourself as one of us and give him no reason to harm you."

"I'm curious about one more thing." Private said.

"Shoot."

"Why was Presley looking for Sam?"

Juno sighed, "She acts like he's her pet and Presley takes advantage of that. She's the one who brought him here in the first place and now the gerbil thinks Sam owns him."

"That's cute." Private said.

Juno didn't respond.

"We're getting closer." Skipper said softly.

"Hey, I'm going to have to drop you off right here." Juno said as they descended. "You'll have to walk a bit, but can you make it?"

"Sure." Skipper said, cutting across Nat who had just opened her mouth to protest.

Once they had landed, Rico gave Nat a pair of fuzzy slippers and a warm blanket to wrap around herself.

The group, minus Juno, trudged on to the village. Echoing laughter and squeals of delight reached them.

"Sounds like children." Private said.

"There are a fair few." Skipper said. "Families of those who were threa-" he stopped dead, staring with an expression of shock at something further ahead.

"What is it?" Private asked, looking around. Kowalski, Rico, and Nat also looked around. To them, nobody was there.

"Toby…" Skipper said faintly. "Toby, wait!" And without warning, he sped off in the direction he had been staring at.

**A/N: Getting closer to discovering the secret of Kowalski's past… His dad will be there. How many of you actually have guessed who Kowalski's mother might be? And who do you think Toby is? **

_**Please to be telling me what is going on in your brainy areas by writing the review thingy to T.K, who loves King Julien, so she may be reading it, peoples.**_

**Julien can't stay off my keyboard.**

_**SHE'S GOING TO-**_

**NO! No spoilers! Thank you, have a nice day.**


	24. Meet the families

Momentarily stunned by the abrupt departure of their teammate, the penguins gave chase. Nat sighed and ran after them, the blanket billowing behind her.

Skipper came to a halt at the top of a hill. The village was just through a small winding path downhill.

"Toby…where did you go?" he said sadly.

"Where do you think, Squirt?"

Skipper jumped, he vaguely recalled that voice. "Toby, what's going on?"

"You're hungry, fish brain."

Skipper's stomach growled as if to offer proof.

"You're hungry and delirious…even though you don't want to admit it."

Skipper squinted, he saw a penguin standing in front of him, but the penguin looked oddly blurred and pale.

"Hey."

"But you're…you died. You, Chris, Brian, and Dad all died."

"Yeah." Toby said sadly.

"So what, did you magically come back to life?"

"Impossible. You can't take a loved one from death."

"Then what's going on here? Why couldn't the others see you?"

Toby grinned, "Why do you think...Runtyfeathers?"

Skipper blushed. "Toby!"

"Relax little bro, I'm only here to give you advice. Dad always said there would be a bigger fight before it was all over."

"Why couldn't he tell me himself?"

It was Toby's turn to flush, "I kind of got in trouble. I didn't exactly have a clean slate so I was told that I had to be a guardian angel. Kind of like community service."

"Toby, you stole a human's motorcycle and crashed it, nearly exposing our-"

"You're not exactly Mr. Perfect, are you? You hijacked several tourist jeeps and ran over an old lady in less than an hour."

"That lady was messed up. Her dog almost made a meal out of Private. And she picked on a fellow zoo animal for no reason."

"I know, I saw."

"Tell me the advice already."

"Skipper!" Private's voice echoed.

"Alright," Toby said, suddenly serious. "Dad says do your best and whatever you're planning, stick with your gut instincts and your friends. We love and respect you guys and we know you guys can save the world." He started to become transparent…he was fading away.

"Wait! What if they want us to use weapons? Private's too young and innocent and I won't have him in something like a war. I know what it looks like, I've seen pictures and I've seen the destroyed village and your bodies."

"Have faith." Toby said in an eerily echo that seemed to whistle like the wind.

"But-"

It was too late, Toby was gone and the team had caught up to him with Nat trailing behind.

"He never tells me anything completely…" Skipper whispered.

"It's alright. Soon we'll have vengeance." Kowalski said. "I know you miss your brothers. You've told me their names." He added in response to Skipper's confused expression. "And we'll see your mom and your sister."

"MUM, I'M COMING!" Private suddenly shouted, he took off barreling down the hill as fast as his webbed feet could go. The others slid on their stomachs towards him. Nat had jumped on Rico's back and now held him to keep from flying off.

Private stopped at the bottom to catch his breath, his chest heaving with excitement and the need for oxygen.

"Can't blame you," Skipper said, jumping up next to the younger penguin, "I'm excited as well."

"Hi!" Sam said, waving to the group. "Over here."

They approached her as she was opening the door of a big ice house.

"They're here." She called inside.

They heard the scraping of chairs and pattering feet. Rocky grinned at them once she saw them.

"I'll leave you to it." Sam said. "I'm sorry but I get emotional at happy reunions…I can't handle it, I'm going to cry. The last penguin should arrive shortly." She took off in the direction of another hut.

Rocky moved to let them in and shut the door when they entered. Nat immediately sat next to a portable electric heater.

The boys took in the view. A female penguin, not that much older than Rico was sitting at a table with a cup of what looked like hot chocolate. She wasn't looking right at them, so they thought she might be blind. A male penguin stood next to her with a big grin and a flipper on the female's head. His flippers were streaked with gray. An older female penguin was smiling as she stood next to Rocky. She was also grayish, but there was an air about her that said it was dangerous to suggest that she was old.

The last female penguin was slightly younger and had happy tears in her bright blue eyes. "A-Andre?" She said with a British accent. Private nodded. "Oh my baby!" she rushed to him and embraced him in a hug. Both were crying now. "I thought I would never see you again. Oh my baby, I'm so glad you're alright."

"I missed you too mum." Private said, burrowing his face in her chest.

"You must have so many questions for me." Candace said.

"Actually, I do." Private said, "What was dad like?"

"Wonderful. He was funny, brave and kind. He loved you to pieces. He died before you hatched, and he wanted the best for you. Of course, he didn't know if you were a boy or a girl, but he would have loved you no matter what. Now, what's this I hear about you getting yourself in trouble?"

"Oh, uh…" Private blushed, "My team helps out a lot." He pointed to Rico, Skipper, and Kowalski. Candace's eyes narrowed, then she smiled again.

"I'm just so glad I get to see you, Nigel tells me you've grown so much and now I can see for myself."

"Mum, are you fond of sweets?"

"Oh yes, it runs in the family. I loved those marshmallow animals."

"I love peanut butter winkies."

"Aww, how precious." She said, giving her son another hug.

"So, does that mean I get a hug?" Skipper's mother asked.

"Yes mom-oof!" She had squeezed him tight he couldn't breathe for a second, and then she loosened her grip.

"I haven't seen you in a long time." She said.

"I know. I figured it was time to see you." Skipper said, smiling.

"I hear you've got yourself a girlfriend."

Skipper turned beet red and glared at Rocky. "Do not…yet."

"But you are displaying interest in a girl?"

"Maybe…that's classified information."

"I'm your mother, this is not classified."

"Mom, I saw Toby." Skipper said, trying to change the subject.

"Maybe you're tired."

"No, I honestly saw Toby as a ghost or guardian angel or something. He told me that Dad told him that there was going to be a war."

Rocky and Skipper looked at their mother who was tossing over thoughts in her mind.

"I believe him." She finally said.

"You believe your second son who came back as a ghost in your youngest kid's hungry delusion?" Rocky asked.

"I didn't imagine it!"

"Did so!"

"Did not!"

"Did so!"

"Stop it!"

"You stop it!"

"You started it!"

"You imagined it!"

Their mother suddenly scooped them up in a big hug to prevent them from arguing further.

"Ow, you're squishing us!"

"Mom, let go!"

Meanwhile, Rico gazed at his father for another minute, and then smiled sheepishly.

"Hey son, how have you been?" Rico's dad asked.

Rico smiled in response and hugged his dad. Then he proceeded to squeeze his sister. Rikki was frightened before she realized who it was.

"Rico!" She jumped up and, not knowing where Rico was, held her flippers up. He tackled her in a hug and they both laughed.

Kowalski felt bittersweet. He loved seeing the happy families reunited, but it hit him how hard he didn't have a real family. He didn't want his dad to come and ruin this moment that Kowalski was okay with.

Kowalski sat next to Nat and smiled at her.

"Warm enough?" He asked. She nodded, sitting back and closing her eyes. "I wonder where Julien is."

"I don't care." Nat said.

"Of course not." Kowalski replied. He stayed silent, not wanting to disturb Nat's first moment of peace in a long time.

Rico looked over at Kowalski and pointed him out to his dad.

"Hey, why so down?" Mr. Blue asked.

"Oh no reason, Mr. Blue."

"Please, call me Rex."

"Rex, Rico, and Rikki?" Kowalski asked, trying not to smile. "What was their mother's name?"

"Stella."

Kowalski was stunned, "Stella? Why didn't you name one of your kids with an 's'?"

"Because Sico doesn't sound good, and neither does Sikki. One sounds like sicko and one sounds like sicky…either way, my kids aren't sick, they're perfectly healthy…well, aside from Rico's vocal problems and Rikki's lack of eyesight."

"Well, Rico is a world class psychopath." Kowalski said before he could stop himself. He suddenly froze in terror.

Rex was about to laugh, but noticed Kowalski stiffen, "Are you okay?" He moved a flipper towards Kowalski, but withdrew it as the younger one flinched. "I wasn't going to hurt you. I've known he was this way since he busted out of his egg and said something that strongly resembled the word 'boom'."

Rico hacked up a stick of dynamite and showed it to his dad.

"Haha, like that." Rex said, beaming at his son. Rico was delighted that his dad didn't think of him as odd or freaky.

"He always does that."

"Even though he had his throat injury when he was seven, I'm not surprised. He'd often spit up an odd thing or two such as-"

"Buttons?" Rico said, pulling one out of his mouth.

"Exactly." Rex said.

"Y-you mean you accept him? Even if he's…different?" Kowalski asked, shaking slightly.

"Of course, he's my son and I'm proud of everything he does."

"Even if he's around humans and loves a doll and-"

"Everything. I would love him no matter what, and I'm perfectly fine with his love for pyrotechnics and inanimate objects. I love him because he is mine."

Kowalski couldn't prevent tears from falling down his face. "I-I'm sorry, I'm ruining the moment…" He turned away.

"No you're not." Skipper's mother said, "You look sad, tell us why."

Kowalski shook his head. "It's nothing." He put on fake smile.

"Hun, I've had five children, I know when it's nothing and when it's something." She said.

"Saph, I don't think he wants-"

"Candace, if your son was obviously upset, would you figure out why?"

"Well, I would try-"

"Then why not for your son's friend? He's family too."

"I am?" Kowalski asked, "But I don't even know your name."

"Sapphire Sorenson." Skipper's mother said, giving Kowalski a warm smile.

"Sapphire, I don't know if I can be part of your fam-"

"You already are family." Sapphire said firmly. "Kowalski, listen to me, no matter what, your team is family and we stick togeth-"

A loud thud interrupted them; the door burst open and let in a strong gust of cold Antarctic air. A harsh looking penguin stood there. He had a face that looked meaner, if possible, than Zander.

Kowalski and Nat gasped.

"Why on earth do I have to be here?" The penguin growled from the door. "I don't give a hoot about the kid."

"Nice to meet you too." Sapphire said, rolling her eyes.

Skipper looked at Kowalski; the brainy penguin had turned pale and looked like he wanted to flee.

"You're Kowalski's dad." Skipper said.

"Ralph?" A voice squeaked from the other side of the room.

"Candace?" Kowalski's dad said. Both of them looked shocked to see each other.

Skipper, Private, Kowalski, Rico, and Nat were looking with narrowed eyes while everyone else was looking interested at the situation that was unfolding in front of them.

"How do you know her?" Skipper said, asking the question that Private was too afraid to ask.

Candace looked from Kowalski to Ralph. "I-it can't be."

"What?" Private asked. "Mum, what's going on?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Candace asked, shaking with anger. "All this time and YOU NEVER SAID ANYTHING!" Everyone jumped. "I SPECIFICALLY ASKED YOU AND YOU TOLD ME HE WAS DEAD!"

"You didn't need to know." Ralph said. "I didn't even want him."

Skipper's beak dropped. "I thought I was wrong." He said softly.

"On what account?" Private asked.

"I had a hunch…a hunch that…brace yourselves boys." Skipper took a deep breath. "I had guessed that there was a possibility that Candace could be your mother."

Kowalski's eyes snapped to her. "Private's my brother? Y-You're my mother?!" He stood up shakily. "And you." he glared at his father. "YOU LIED TO ME! YOU NEVER TOLD ME I HAD A BROTHER! YOU NEVER TOLD ME MY MOTHER WAS ALIVE! WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING?!"

"Don't raise your voice at me." Ralph snapped. "She wanted to go back to that idiot and I had no idea that the kid was born."

"Andrew was not an idiot." Candace hissed

Kowalski held his head in his flippers as a painful headache hit him suddenly. "You can't tell me what to do. I'm older and stronger. I HATE YOU! I ALWAYS HAVE AND ALWAYS WILL! YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME WHO MY MOTHER WAS!" he bellowed.

"You didn't have the right to know."

"I HAD EVERY RIGHT! IT'S MY MOTHER YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" He roared in fury and ran out of the house.

He didn't know how far he had been running, but he knew that he had to get away. Tears streaked his face as he finally collapsed on the ice when he thought he'd gone far enough.

**A/N: DUN DUN DUUUUUUN! **

**By the way, Rico and Rikki's mother died after Rico was born.**

**Next chapter already being written, read and review please.**

**Thank you to all who have reviewed already!**


	25. What happened so long ago

"Hey, I am making a super kingly drawing here!" Julien's voice rang out.

Kowalski turned his back on the lemur.

"Okay, you know I don't do emotiony comfort stuff, but I am being told I should care about commoners to be a good king. So tell me your penguiny problems." Julien said, sitting down next to Kowalski, poking a stick on the icy ground.

"My past has come to haunt me and brought a meteor." Kowalski muttered.

"Tell your king all about it." Julien said.

"You don't care."

"True, but you gots to get it out. Like I need to get out my grumpies by kicking Mort or dancing."

"I guess I could tell you, I need someone to listen."

"Okay, tell me while I draw you in profile." Julien said, grinning.

"Well, to make a long story short, I hate my father and I have just met my mother."

"Eh, I don't get it, aren't you supposing to be slap-happy to finding your mom?"

"Yes, I guess, but she's here in the penguin village and she's Private's mother too. Apparently, my dad took me away and my mom met someone new. She never forgot me, I suppose."

"Why suppose?"

"She seemed angry when she realized I was her first son."

"Angry at who?"

"My dad."

"Yeah, she totally cares. It's like Josie, if Maya is being hurt or lost, Josie gets defensive."

"Motherly instincts, I guess. Thanks for listening."

"Huh? I was listening to something?" Julien asked, puzzled.

Kowalski looked at the ground, "Hey, I thought you were drawing me."

"Yeah, then I got bored and drew me kicking Mort."

"That's a flower with…a baseball bat?"

"Hey, are you a brainy penguin or are you being the art critic?"

Kowalski rolled his eyes. "You do realize that you are very strange, don't you?" he asked.

"Strange to you, not to me." Julien responded. "Anyway, I am going to rule the tiny animals."

"Good golly, he's turning children into servants." Kowalski said as Julien bounded away. "We're leaving soon!" He called after Julien. The lemur shouted something back, but was too far for Kowalski to understand.

"Kowalski?" A voice said.

Kowalski thought it was Candace by the British accent, but he turned to find Private.

"Sorry I left." Kowalski muttered.

"Yeah, it was getting a bit awkward in there." Private said.

"You didn't know about this, did you?" Kowalski asked.

"Of course not, I would have said something to you. I thought that my mum and dad met and it was just me. I didn't know she had a previous relationship or that I had a half-brother. Are you angry with me?"

"No way, it's not your fault at all…are you mad at me?"

"Why should I be? I gained a brother."

"Private, I don't know if I can be a good brother."

"It doesn't matter, you're here now and I'm happy."

"Boys?" Candace said, walking towards them. "Are you angry with me?"

"I'm a little upset that you didn't tell me that I at least had a brother…even if he was dead, I'd like to have known…you could have told Skipper. Skipper found Kowalski and if he knew, then I could have been his brother a long time ago." Private said in a hurt voice. "Did Uncle Nigel know about this?"

"He knew of the relationship, but he didn't know that we had a baby. I'm deeply sorry that I didn't write to you and tell you."

"It would have saved a lot of tears and arguments." Kowalski said. "You'd have known I was alive. I've lived in Wisconsin until I was thirteen and then I left."

"I'm sorry," Candace said again, "By leaving you when I thought you were dead, I've made your live miserable."

"It wasn't completely; I had Nat, Emma, and Izzy. Emma, a female squirrel, died when I was thirteen on the night I left. Izzy, an otter, was taken from his home about an hour earlier and then I left with Nat. Nat and I split after she heard that Izzy was somewhere southwest."

"I wish to hear more of your life." Candace said. "And how both of you ended up in New York."

"Okay, but first, you have to tell us your story." Kowalski said.

"My story?"

"We want to know everything mum," Private said, "Tell us about what happened between you and Ralph."

Candace sighed deeply, "It's a bit complicated. He changed, you see…from the penguin I met into…well, you know."

"I want to know what changed him." Kowalski said, "If he was kind and loving when you met him, I want to know what changed."

"Ooh, story time!" Private said excitedly, sitting down.

Candace smiled and sat down, then began her tale.

**FLASHBACK**

_It was thirty-six years ago when she met him; he was having a snowball fight with a few friends when Candace was passing by._

"_Watch out!" He yelled._

_Unfortunately, she was too late on the uptake and ended up with a face full of snow. The other animals laughed, but Ralph ran over to her._

"_Shut up, guys! Hey, are you okay?"He asked, obviously concerned._

"_I'm fine." Candace said, trying to hide the tears that were forming._

_Ralph glared at his friends, "Not funny, guys."_

"_That was totally funny!"Another penguin said._

"_Ignore them," Ralph said, rolling his eyes. "I'm Ralph, who are you?"_

"_My name is Candace."_

"_Cool accent, is it British?"_

"_Yes." Candace said with a small smile, "My brother and I are from Britain. He's hanging out with his best friend at the moment."_

"_How old are you?" He asked._

"_Now, it's not polite to ask a lady her age." She said playfully. "Anyway, I'm late for tea and I have no idea where I am."_

"_Canada." Ralph said, smiling back._

"_I knew that, but I was looking for a spot in the woods and…"_

"_Are you a scardy cat?" A wolf asked, laughing._

"_No." Candace said unconvincingly. "I'm supposed to meet them at Whiteclay Lake."_

"_Lucky for you, I know how to get there." Ralph said._

"_Really? Would you show me?"_

"_On one condition."_

_Candace tried to look suspicious, "What?"_

"_I get to join you for tea." Ralph said, giving her a huge grin._

"_I don't know about that." Candace said, unable to conceal her smile. "You could be trouble."_

"_Okay, but you probably don't know the most important rule of snow." He sighed dramatically._

"_If it's about the yellow snow, I know." Candace said, rolling her eyes._

"_Nope, it's about something utterly different."_

"_What would that be?"_

"_Do you always ask questions that start with 'w'?"_

"_I- that's completely beside the point."_

"_Sorry, I just wanted to know."_

"_No, I don't. Now can you please tell me this important rule?"_

"_Ice skate when the lake is frozen solid, baby!" Then he attempted a strange dance maneuver and ended up falling on his butt._

_Candace scooped up a pile of snow and dumped it on his head. "That's for the snowball in my face."_

_His face turned into a grumpy look, "I'll show you the lake." He muttered, walking away._

"_Are you really mad?"_

"_FINALLY!" He shouted suddenly, causing Candace to jump, clutching her chest._

"_What on earth was that for?" She squeaked._

"_You asked a question that didn't start with 'w'." he said, promptly turning around and continuing to the lake._

"_Tha- That was it?!" She said, "You just scream out of nowhere and it's all because of a bloody 'w'?"_

"_Not a bloody w, a regular one."_

_Candace sighed and followed him. "Are we there yet?"_

"_Where?"_

"_Whiteclay Lake."_

"_Oh blimey! My trousers must be in a twist, I got all gobblywonkled." Ralph said with a terribly mimicked British accent._

_Candace shot him a look, "Honestly?"_

"_Sorry, but I do have a question about your home."_

"_Okay."_

"_How close are the countries British and England?"_

"_They're the same country, sort of. It's Britain, not British."_

"_I know, I like making people explain ridiculous things, it's hilarious." Ralph said with a small chuckle._

_Candace laughed. "You're funny."_

"_Candace?" A voice called from nearby. "Is that you?"_

"_Over here, Nigel!"_

"_Oh hello," Nigel said as he spotted Ralph, "thank you for helping my sister."_

"_No problem, I've been invited to tea."Ralph said proudly._

"_Yeah, invited." Candace said flatly._

"_Aw, come on, I'll make this party fun!"_

"_Don't dance again, please." Candace said._

"_I can dance on ice." Ralph said, nodding his head._

_Nigel led them to the spot where tea and fish sandwiches were already laid out._

"_Terribly sorry, we didn't know you were coming." Nigel said to Ralph. Three cups of tea were already poured out._

"_Hey, my name's Andrew." The other penguin said._

"_Ralph, nice to meet you."_

"_Likewise."_

"_Nigel, I'll have the rest of tea in this thing." He picked up the hot kettle and poured some of it into his beak. Then he dropped it and screamed. "OW! HOT THING! HOT THING! THAT BURNS REALLY BAD!" He buried his face in the snow and mumbled something._

"_What?" Andrew asked._

_Ralph withdrew his head. "I said, that's better." Then he plopped his face back in the snow._

"_No yellow snow?" Candace asked._

_Ralph shot up and spluttered. "No, but I forgot about that. I'm sorry, I ruined your tea."_

"_Not at all, come join us for some jolly fun." Nigel said._

"_I have to show you my dance moves." Ralph said._

"_Oh no." Candace groaned._

_Ralph jumped on the ice and began spinning. "This is fun! You should try it!"_

_Candace stepped timidly onto the frozen lake surface._

"_I-I don't know about this."_

_Ralph slowed down and grabbed her flippers. "Trust me." He said, gently pulling her onto the ice._

"Wait a minute." Kowalski said, interrupting the story. "This sounds like you were the perfect couple. Andrew didn't care about you?"

"Over the next few years, he began to care more about me." Candace said. "It wasn't until four years before you were born that he started undergoing personality changes. We had a great six years until we were attacked by an orca. Both of us survived, obviously, but…"

"Did he get mad at you?"

"No, Andrew heard from Nigel and he…he wrote me letters. He said that he wanted to make sure I was okay and to assure that I was being treated fairly."

"Like a pen pal?" Private asked.

"Ralph also read those letters and there was a hint that Andrew had feelings for me in most of them."

"He got jealous." Kowalski said bitterly.

"After four years, I decided to try to rekindle the love we once had. I hatched you and five days later, Ralph left with you. He said that I had betrayed him and did not deserve a child. I tried contacting him, but the last information I received told me that you were dead. He said that you had tried swimming, but got caught in something and drowned."

"That's terrible." Private said, glancing at Kowalski who had begun shaking again.

"Andrew and Nigel comforted me. I wasn't mad at Andrew, he was being my friend and Ralph got jealous. I realized that I loved Andrew and tried to leave my past behind. And since I thought my son was dead, I wanted to suppress the memories of what could have been."

"Oh dear," Private said. "Mum, do you think you could ever be friends with him again?"

Candace shook her head, "I'm afraid not, Andre. You see, it's been twenty-six years and he's still angry. I think he's angry at himself, which is why he tried to raise you his way and without me."

"It didn't work." Kowalski said. "He hates me."

"Maybe it's because he saw too much of me in you." Candace said. "You look more like me, and you have a natural curiosity of the world. And you love being around humans and human objects."

"And I'm a scientist." Kowalski said.

"This is all because of me. You get your curiosity from me. And he didn't want you to be curious or you would find me."

"I'm glad Kowalski's curious." Private said. "It helps him make amazing inventions, even if they blow up most of the time."

Candace smiled. "I'm sure you're brilliant."

Kowalski didn't smile. "What am I supposed to think?" he asked. "I find you, Private's my brother and I hate my father even more…I feel like I want to explode."

"Think about happy thoughts." Private said. "Like Lunacorns!"

"Somehow, I don't think that'll work." A voice said behind them.

"Who are you?" Candace asked the penguin.

"Johnson." Kowalski growled. "What are you doing here?"

"I should ask you the same thing." Johnson replied.

"We're visiting family!" Private said, earning a slap from Kowalski.

"Classified information?" Johnson asked with a chuckle. A noise like a plane sounded nearby. "I've always liked that kid."

"LIAR!" Kowalski screamed. "You HATED him! You and Manfredi tried to get rid of him."

"Oh come on, stop living in the past." Johnson said, waving his flippers nonchalantly.

"Tell that to your sister." Julien's voice rang out. "I heard from de reliable source thingy who said you tried to snuffocate him!"

"That's not a word, and who are you?"

"Ringtail, there you are!" Skipper said, approaching them.

Johnson immediately stiffened. Skipper froze dead in his tracks as he saw his former teammate.

"Eh, even more of the awkwardness going on here." Julien said.

"Infinitely awkward." Kowalski said blankly.

"Hey, smarty booty, are you feeling okay?"

Kowalski didn't answer.

"Sarah!" Private said suddenly. He pointed to where she was rushing towards them. Rico, Rocky, and Nat were right behind her. A jet could be seen nearby.

"I'm afraid I have distressing news." Sarah said once she arrived. "Your zoo has been attacked."

"WHAT?!" Everyone shouted.

"What about my kingdom? Maya and Josie?" Julien demanded.

"Marlene." Skipper said.

"What happened to Tory and Byron and the others?" Private asked.

"They're being rushed to our medical facilities. Tory is seriously injured, but not enough to be life threatening. Dan, Charlie, Tammy, and the other penguin are the least injured of the penguins and…"

"What happened to Byron?" Skipper asked. "Where is your son?"

"He's in a coma." Sarah said. "I have not gathered a census of your zoo animals. Charlie and your newest penguin remain at the zoo. Someone is patching them up."

Skipper thought he detected a waver in her voice. "Alright, we're going back to the zoo."

Skipper, Rico, Kowalski, Private, Julien, Nat, and Rocky climbed into the jet and got ready to take off. Johnny was also in the plane. Sarah ordered Johnson to stay and protect the village.

"Be careful!" Candace said. She made eye contact with Private. She was sad, but she could tell by the expression on his face that her little boy had grown up. She sighed and waved.

"Call your zoo." Sarah said, handing them a radio communicator.

"Skipper to zoo HQ. Zoo HQ, please respond." Skipper spoke into the device. There was static on the other end. "Zoo HQ, this is important, please respond."

"I tried, Skipper." Charlie's voice finally came out, "I'm sorry, I-" he was crying and didn't continue.

"Charlie? Is there anyone else available?"

"Is there candy inside you?" Mort's high pitched voice asked.

"Oh no." Julien said. "Mort! I am commanding you to give this radio thingy to Maurice."

"Oh yay, King Julien it is you!"

"Give me that!" Maurice snapped. "King Julien, where have you been?"

"Portly lemur, give me the scenario." Skipper ordered, cutting across Julien.

"I'm big boned."

"Just tell me what's going on."

"Apparently, whoever doesn't like you planned a night attack. They destroyed most of your home. Pretty much everyone else is unharmed. Josie's going ballistic though, worried about-"

"Is anyone dead? Hurt? Missing?"

"No one's dead. Only the penguins got hurt, and-"

"Is there someone missing?"

No reply.

"Maurice, answer me!" Skipper snapped, "Is someone missing?"

Still nothing. The plane was already flying past South America.

"MAURICE!" Skipper barked.

"Marlene's been kidnapped."


	26. Storm and the calm after it

The radio dropped to the floor with a bang. Everything seemed to slow down and a pain erupted in his chest as if something was constricting him…the plane seemed to be spinning around him, everyone looked like blurs to him…He couldn't breathe…was it hot in here?

A sudden lurch snapped him back to reality. Sarah had suddenly landed in the Central Park Zoo.

He didn't care how they got there so fast; all that mattered was seeing proof.

He ran, almost dreamlike to the otter's habitat. He called her name, no response came. He called louder and louder. He was almost in tears, shaking off the last time he saw her. It was early in the morning and he had given her a kiss. If only he had the guts to tell her his true feelings. He only managed to say he really liked her.

He trudged back to the HQ, only to find a more distressing sight. The platform had caved in and no one else had wanted to venture into the slowly flooding habitat. Kowalski and Rico managed to make a hole big enough for them to squeeze through and get to the HQ below.

Charlie and Mikayla were in the lemur habitat. Julien was being chewed out by Josie while Sarah questioned the other animals. Nat was chatting with Charlie and Mikayla while Rocky and Johnny followed Sarah. Private stood in front of Skipper with a flipper in salute as his leader approached.

"Stand down, soldier." Skipper croaked.

Private nodded and instead, put his flipper around Skipper. They noticed storm clouds moving in.

"It'll be okay; we'll find her and rescue her." The younger penguin assured. "We've been in tight spots before; rescuing Marlene will be as easy as counting to three."

"I'm glad I taught you to be confident." Skipper said, "But you also have to think…what if they did something to her?"

"Well, you once told me that if they resort to kidnap that it usually means they want something." Private said. "The enemy always has a motive, you said."

"I did say that, huh?"

"Yes."

"This is fixable." Rocky said, approaching the habitat. Rico poked his head out and nodded.

The penguins, with the aid of Nat, Burt and the chimps, managed to at least fix the habitat so the penguins could go in and their secret operation wouldn't be compromised. It still wasn't safe enough to sleep there. They were instead, sleeping in Marlene's habitat. Sarah said that everyone needed sleep before they planned their next move.

Sarah had informed the others that the zoo was on temporary shut down because the workers were investigating the explosions. After they had confirmed that it must have been an underground pipe explosion under the penguins' habitat, they weren't going to open for a while.

"Kowalski, are you okay?" Mikayla asked. The tall penguin was sitting in a far corner of the cave.

He looked at her, "I'm fine, honestly." He said.

"You don't like me, do you?"

"I never said that, I just had a headache on the first day."

"Okay, well if you ever need to talk, I'm a pretty good listener." Mikayla smiled and went back to her spot for bed.

Kowalski eventually fell asleep.

That night brought more storm clouds and a fair drizzle.

Unfortunately, the morning brought more distressing news. The zoo was unable to determine if it was a water main, or a gas pipe. So in order to maintain the safety of the animals, they would be transferred to different zoos for the time being.

Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, Private, Sarah, Johnny, Rocky, and Charlie hid in the partially destroyed HQ. It had a clear inch of water covering the entire floor. The television still worked, but the fridge had been damaged by a falling piece of concrete. It was cold outside and the dark clouds stayed above the city.

Kowalski checked his lab for damages. He reported that many beakers were smashed or cracked, at least two inventions were badly damaged, and that two things were stolen.

"What were they?" Skipper asked.

"A blueprint and a microchip containing information on my next invention are missing from my lab." He responded.

"Are they important?" Sarah asked.

Kowalski sighed, "What's on the blueprint is a theory on how to start it, so the basics, not the whole thing. But the chip…It contains information gathered from classified sources, detailing the effects on this new invention."

"Are they dangerous in the hands of the enemy?" Skipper asked. Rain pattered from above.

"Let's say that if Mort were to get his hands on it, he could accidentally cause massive rolling blackouts, electricity would go haywire, and anything with an output of radiation could be destroyed. The outside of it was designed to look like a simple tool, but the truth is, it's the most dangerous weapon yet. If Mort or Julien could destroy things with it by accident, imagine what the enemy could do on purpose. This device could possibly reach the whole world with its destructive power."

"We now have to worry about two things, Marlene and this invention of Kowalski's." Skipper glared at Kowalski.

"I didn't put Marlene in danger." Kowalski said defensively.

"Can I speak to you alone, up top?" Skipper asked.

"It's raining." Private said.

"I'll go." Kowalski said as if he hadn't heard Private.

Skipper and Kowalski proceeded up top while the others stayed down.

They could hear the loud boom of thunder and a crackle of lightning. The rain was falling harder now.

"What do you suppose is going on?" Johnny asked.

Rico shrugged.

"WHAT?! Is that what you think?!" Kowalski's angry voice came from above.

"Yeah, now stop being a baby." Skipper yelled.

"You knew this entire time about Izzy and about my mother!"

"I didn't know about your otter friend until the other day!"

"WHAT ABOUT MY MOTHER?"

"I told you, it was my suspicions!"

"YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME!"

"YOU WEREN'T READY!"

"I WAS TOO!"

"That's a child's response."

"Maybe I shouldn't be part of this team if you're going to criticize everything I do and call me out on things that WERE NOT MY FAULT!"

"You let Private into your lab and-"

"I WAS SHOWERING! IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!"

"You know, maybe you're right, you shouldn't be part of this team. I have a strict policy about no whining babies."

"THAT'S IT! I'M LEAVING! I can't believe that after all this time; you still want to pick fights with me."

"You started it."

"Yeah, I asked to be tortured. ARE YOU INSANE?!"

"THEN LEAVE ALREADY!"

"FINE!"

Private couldn't stand it any longer, he opened the fish hatch to see Kowalski jump the habitat boundaries and run out of the zoo.

"KOWALSKI!" He shouted. "WAIT!"

Skipper held the smaller penguin back. Both of them were already soaked with rain water. Skipper jumped back inside, followed by Private.

"What happened?" Rocky asked.

"How could you?" Private asked, tears welling up in his eyes.

Skipper ignored him.

"Skipper, what happened?" Sarah asked.

Skipper ignored her too.

"Skipper." Rico said, putting a flipper on the leader's back.

"Fine." Skipper said. "He's run off like a baby." He huffed.

But he's my brother!" Private said, "Go get him back!"

"No, he made his decision and I'll make mine. We need to get Marlene and that invention back."

"What about Kowalski?" Private asked.

Skipper ignored him again.

"Skipper."

"No more questions about Kowalski." Skipper snapped. "I said he made his decision."

"Skipper, you do realize he has valuable information, right?" Sarah asked. "He could take this straight to Blowhole and destroy us."

"He wouldn't do that." Private said.

"He's angry," Johnny said, "When have any of us thought clearly while angry?"

"Right now." Sarah said. "I am furious, yet I am thinking clearly."

"We need to go now!" Private said, "Please, he's my brother. And Marlene's a good friend, we need to save them."

"We need to plan a cover, and we don't even know where Blowhole's base is." Sarah said.

"We do." Skipper said. "Kowalski put a chip in Simon's back when we were trapped in the old base. We'll be able to find him and Blowhole."

"But Kowalski could betray us and tell them about the chip." Rocky said.

"This is why we have to go after him now!" Private said.

"I'm confident he won't say a thing." Skipper said.

"But what if they trick him, or make him their mindless puppet?" Rocky asked

"Skipper." Private said.

"That won't happen." Skipper said confidently. "As I said-"

"You could be wrong." Rocky said.

"Skipper, would-"

"You could be proven wrong." Sarah said.

"She's right; you can't fully trust your instincts." Johnny said.

"Skip-"

"Can so, I've trusted my instincts hundreds of times and-"

"SKIPPER!" Private screamed, causing everyone to look at him. "I don't care about this right now. I want to get Kowalski back. Then we can plan with him how to get Marlene back and the invention. And I hate when you ignore me."

"I'm sorry, I-"

"We need to sneak in." Johnny said, "We need a team to go in, and a backup team."

Skipper nodded.

"You all can attempt to sneak in, I'll head back to base with Bone and gather backup." Sarah said.

"I agree, General." Rocky said.

"What about me?" Charlie said. Everyone gave a slight jump. He had been silent the entire time, they forgot he was there.

"You are coming with me." Sarah said.

"But General Kent-"

"You can't enter the base, don't argue with me."

"Okay." Charlie mumbled, looking dejected.

Skipper gathered a few things from the lab and some weapons. "You'll need these." He said, giving the objects to Sarah. "We'll begin Operation Sneak in at 1900 hours. Does that give you enough time to rally backup and get them ready for the possibility of a battle?"

"Yes, as of now it gives me seven hours." She said. "We'll be ready."

Sarah, Johnny and Charlie left as soon as possible. The rain fell lighter now, but it was still cloudy.

The afternoon wore on with anxiety. Private felt scared that everything was going to go terribly wrong; Rico felt it odd that there was no noise except for water because the entire floor of the base was still flooded; Rocky didn't want to argue with her brother so she tried to help strategize and comfort Private; Skipper paced often in his own churning cauldron of thoughts.

They gathered weapons and what was leftover of some of Kowalski's inventions that worked and stuffed everything in Rico's gut. They ate food in the middle of the day, but by late afternoon they felt sick.

"I'm sorry Private." Skipper finally said, finding the younger one sitting on the wall of the lemur habitat.

"It just feels so strange." Private said, looking back. "It's sad, really…what if we never see anyone again?"

"Then we can go down knowing we put up a fight." Skipper said.

"After this is all over, I want a vacation." Private said.

"After this is over, we can go back to our families. I think Rex was thinking of adopting Kowalski. "

"Really?"

"I don't know, but I do feel bad."

"Why didn't you go after him?"

Skipper didn't reply.

"Are you ignoring me again?" Private asked sadly.

"No, I'm just thinking about…things."

"Is it Marlene?"

"I want to tell you something, but it's a secret."

"I'll keep it."

"From everyone else, don't even tell Rico."

"Okay."

Skipper drew a deep breath. "I love her." He said. "For a long time, I didn't know what this strange feeling was. I thought it might be nausea, but I'm actually thinking it might be love. Does love make you feel like a gooey marshmallow?"

"That's one way of putting it, but yes. I'd say you are in love." Private said.

They both looked on to the rest of the wet zoo.

"I wish weapons could create ice cream." Private said.

"Ice cream?"

"So they wouldn't hurt anyone, just fire ice cream."

"That would be wonderful, and the dentist businesses will thrive."

Private laughed. Skipper smiled.

Rocky came to inform them that they had only had three hours left until their operation began.

**A/N: Plots, subplots, things unmentioned…Enjoy the story!**


	27. The dangerous rescue mission

**WARNING: THERE IS VIOLENCE, BLOOD, WEAPON USAGE AND MINOR CHARACTER DEATH AHEAD. NOT TOO DETAILED, BUT STILL ENOUGH TO MAKE ME PUT THIS WARNING. IF YOU THINK ANYTHING SHOULD BE OMITTED OR CHANGED, PLEASE NOTIFY ME. I WISH FOR ALL MY READERS TO ENJOY THE STORY.**

Skipper managed to track down Blowhole's base off the southeast coast of Nova Scotia on the tip of a little crescent shaped piece of land called Sable Island. He estimated that they'd have to travel by submarine.

"Now, we don't have Kowalski on navigational charts so Rocky will take care of that." Skipper said.

"I'm not that good." She said.

"You'll do fine." Skipper said.

Private thought it was too soon when they were in the water and getting ready to leave. He was scared, but he didn't want to admit it. He gave a small gasp when the submarine lowered into the bay and set off on its journey with four penguins inside it. Looking around, no one seemed to notice. Rico was checking weapons systems and making sure the systems were working properly while steering the submarine; Skipper was staring out the window in deep thought; and Rocky was looking at navigation charts she'd drawn up. Private kept an eye on the radar.

Private smiled when he remembered the time they used the submarine to get some aged brine herring. Though the rest of it wasn't fun, the funny part was that Kowalski tooted under water while they were lifting the crate.

The submarine had been updated on recent cloaking technology so they were able to go as fast as they wanted to without being seen. Though it had just been installed an hour ago so they weren't sure how well it would work.

Rocky wanted to chew out her brother so badly for letting his teammate walk out, but she didn't want him to get angry and kick her out. She didn't exactly understand the navigation charts, but she had a map and a compass. The compass was going haywire because of all the surrounding metal and, though she didn't know it, electromagnetic fields coming from objects in Rico's gut and the motor inside the submarine.

PING! PING!

Private jumped. "I think we're close." He said. "Unmoving object at 800 feet and closing, I can make out land mass."

"Rico, take us to 500 feet." Skipper said. Rico nodded and proceeded.

"500 feet sir."

A sloping land mass was barely visible.

"Skipper, come in Skipper. This is Johnny Bone, come in, over." A voice came from Rico's gut.

Rico hacked up the radio and gave it to Skipper.

"Skipper here, what is it?" Skipper asked.

"A building has been detected in your vicinity. It's approximately 500 feet in distance from you and 700 feet above sea level." Johnny said.

"Thanks, we're going in." Skipper said, stowing the radio inside Rico. A muffled 'Good luck' was heard.

"Private, if we make it out alive with Kowalski and Marlene, I'll tell you my real name." Skipper said. "And if you are the only one who makes it, I give you permission to ask my mother."

Private smiled. "Thanks."

"We'll make it." Rocky said confidently.

"Yeah." Rico agreed.

Skipper hid the submarine near an old shipwreck and the penguins exited. Holding their breath, they swam silently and carefully towards the land. Looking back, Skipper didn't see the submarine and he was confident that no one else would.

The four of them managed to get to the land and surface undetected, but they saw security at the entrance. Rico pointed to something down below. It looked like a ventilation shaft. Skipper smiled. The two of them pried the vent off with some difficulty. As soon as the penguins were inside the vent, Rico fitted the vent back on so no one would know they entered.

They swam up until they found a pocket of air that led up to the building. Rico used a sonar device invented by Kowalski to detect enemy presence. He put up what looked like a miniature satellite dish and after a few minutes shook his head.

Skipper motioned for him to take off the vent. Rico worked quietly, but fast. The vent came off and they crawled through. Rico replaced the vent quickly as Skipper surveyed his surroundings. The room looked like a basement with two exits; things were cluttered here and there. Upon discovery, Rocky concluded that nothing important was in there and she shook her head to indicate this.

Skipper reached inside Rico's mouth and found their disguises which they quickly put on. They had long dark cloaks and their faces, beaks, and feet were painted black. They were hoping their mission would be over before the paint wore off

They decided to split up since there were two doorways. Rico and Skipper took the one behind them while Rocky and Private took the one on the far left end of the room.

Rocky and Private were to find and take the invention and blueprints while the other two were to find Marlene.

Rico and Skipper weren't confronted by anyone until they reached a high security zone.

"Stop." A gruff looking bear said. "You cannot pass through here."

"I have orders to be here." Skipper said in a deep voice.

Rico's voice would have been a dead giveaway so he had been ordered to be quiet and not regurgitate anything unless their cover was blown.

"Really? I'm going to have to see proof." The bear growled. "Don't want you around the prisoner."

"My orders come straight from Koru. Now do you want to question why he sends two soldiers into that room?"

The bear looked nervous. "No, no, not at all…what was your name again? It's for the record of course."

"My name is Chris, that's all you need to know."

"And his?" The bear said, pointing to the silent Rico.

"Him, he's a new guy who goes by the name of Gus. He doesn't speak English."

"Oh, I heard we got new guys." The bear said, "Go on, and let's forget all of this happened."

Skipper nodded and entered the room. There was a line of rooms that looked like holding cells. He paused and went to a door, knocking softly. He heard a small scuffling noise.

"Marlene?" He asked, pulling the door open. He held back a gasp and entered quickly, closing the door behind him.

The otter looked terrible, her fur was messed up and she had massive tangles, bruises and dried blood on her. She looked like she'd been cut in a few places and some wounds were still bleeding.

"Leave me alone." She growled trying to get her claws out.

"Wait, it's me. Skipper." He said.

She looked at him suspiciously. "I doubt it." she said hoarsely.

"Just this morning, I told you I really liked you." He said. "Bit of an understatement. I love you Marlene. Look into my eyes and tell me that I'm not Skipper."

Skipper winced when he saw her swollen purple eye. Marlene stared at him before gasping and hugging him. "I thought you'd never come." She gasped, a few sobs escaped her mouth and tears flowed down her cheeks.

"We're busting you out of here." Skipper said. He exited for a brief second and came back to dress her wounds. "First, we make you look like someone else." He wrapped bandages around her before giving her a cloak. Then he painted her entire face dark brown. He also painted her white foot black so no one could tell it was her. As soon as the paint dried, he whispered to her a plan.

The bear was waiting patiently until he heard some commotion, a yell and a thud. He opened the door to see Skipper.

"You got to help, she pretended to need something and then knocked Gus over. She's vicious."

The bear growled and peered into Marlene's room. She was facing the other way, but the bear didn't have time to register this before he was knocked out by Skipper. Rico tied up the bear and tied his mouth shut, then locked the door once Skipper and Marlene were out.

"Now what?" Marlene asked.

"Now we find Rocky and Private."

"Kowalski's here." Marlene said.

"I know and I'll explain everything later, now we have to go. Rico, go find Private and Rocky."

Rico nodded and vanished.

Skipper and Marlene wandered around the building until they heard a familiar voice.

"I told you you'd be a great part of our team." Simon's voice came from around the corner.

"I think I remember." Kowalski replied.

"You've been very useful, even if you don't remember many of your designs. Are you sure you can't finish the special invention?"

"The special invention's actual blueprints were in my head, but I had my brain drained once and I guess that and other inventions are the only things that didn't come back to me."

"Well, you were right to abandon that loser team of yours. Especially that crybaby, Private."

Skipper seethed with anger. He wanted to cream Simon so badly. Marlene was astonished too, but she kept her silence.

INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!

The alarm was so sudden and loud that it caused Marlene to yelp.

Kowalski and Simon ran out of the room, not noticing Skipper and Marlene.

The alarm continued to blare as they entered the room, only to find that Private came panting in from the other side.

"I-I lost…R-Rocky." He said, trying to catch his breath. "Chip…and prints…inside Rico…I ac…accidentally…alarm." He took a deep breath, "I tripped the alarm, I'm sorry."

"It's fine, let's go." They ran to where the basement was. "Take her back to the submarine, contact Kent for backup."

Private nodded.

"Wait." Marlene said.

"What?" Skipper said, trying not to panic.

Marlene kissed him on the beak, and then followed Private downstairs before Skipper had time to react.

Private pondered how he would do this. Marlene couldn't hold her breath as long as a penguin.

He wanted to give her an oxygen mask, but he wasn't Rico. They both decided to swim down and towards the submarine. Marlene went up for one gulp of air and gasped when she saw the building. The top was on fire and many agents were fleeing. She held her breath and dove to the submarine. The water felt good on her eye and cuts. It also washed away the blood and paint.

Private immediately signaled on the radio. They were wondering what to do next when a missile shot towards them. They both gasped.

Meanwhile, Rico had been cornered.

"Nowhere to run now, penguin."

"YAH!" Rocky yelled, knocking down a few agents. Rico regurgitated some explosives and grinned at her. They blew their way into the main control room.

"Whoa." Rico said. "Kaboom?"

"Big time."

BANG! CRASH! The systems exploded, metal parts crashed into each other and the surrounding walls. The scent of burning metal added to the fire growing upstairs.

More crashes and yells signaled that a fight was going on a floor below.

Rico and Rocky met up with Skipper and hurried to aid the battle. It looked like knives and swords were being used. Rico hacked up a few and gave them to the siblings.

The backup consisted of General Kent, Zander, Johnny Bone, Dan, Juno, Jordan, and Byron.

"You're better." Skipper said, helping him fight.

"Mom doesn't know I stowed on the jet." He said.

Skipper heard Rocky yell for help and ran off. He stopped to look around and was jabbed in the left shoulder by a knife.

"You." He said to Simon. "Bring it on."

Kowalski was edging towards the exit when the doors banged open. Koru was standing there with Nora by his side. He had Private by the neck and Nora had Marlene in a headlock.

"DROP YOUR WEAPONS!" He cackled. "DROP 'EM or they get it." he brandished his knife.

Everyone stopped and stared in horror.

"Give it up." Nora said. "It is pointless to fight, unless you want them dead."

"Blowhole's not in charge of this base, I AM!" Koru said. "And I say, SURRENDER OR DIE!"

Kowalski approached Koru.

"Ah, your friend who BETRAYED YOU and joined ME."

Kowalski said nothing. He pulled out a knife from behind his back.

"K-Kowalski." Private sobbed.

"NO!" Marlene, Rico and Rocky shouted.

"Kowalski!" Skipper yelled. "Please, Kowalski…"

"Don't do it!" Dan yelled.

"I have to do this." Kowalski said.

"THAT'S IT! KILL YOUR PATHETIC LITTLE FRIEND!" Koru screamed maniacally.

For a fraction of a second, Kowalski's eyes flickered upwards, but no one noticed. He raised the knife with a determined expression. Private closed his eyes so he didn't see it coming.

"AAH!" Koru screamed as Kowalski's knife descended upon him. Kowalski took advantage of Koru's shock and pushed Private away. The knife gashed Koru's chest.

"Hey!" Nora yelled. She had been jumped on by Byron who apparently found out there was a ledge nearby, climbed up on it and waited for the right moment. He knew that Kowalski had seen him and thought the taller bird wouldn't hurt his teammate.

"WHAT IS THIS?!"

"There's someone who wants payback." Kowalski growled. He spat in Koru's face. "And I would never betray my team."

Skipper appeared next to Koru and took the knife from Kowalski. Koru tackled Skipper and punched him. Skipper pushed Koru off and attempted to kill him, but the knife hit his flipper.

SELF DESTRUCT IN ONE MINUTE

Skipper looked furious. "Why did you put self destruct?"

"I LOVE DESTRUCTION!"

"Idiot!"

Explosions began to sound and everyone fled outside.

Simon had a boat with agents on it and they left. Nora was the last to get on as she had thrown a knife with a satisfied smirk.

The building next to them let out a final explosion.

"NO!" Someone screamed. It was a scream of pure anguish. It was full of clear pain and shock. It was Sarah.

The other penguins and Juno looked horrified at the state of their fellow soldier.

"Byron." Skipper whispered.

Byron was covered in stab wounds, blood came from his face and other parts of his body. The most blood soaked area was where the knife was, deep into his heart.

"I'm sorry." He said, shaking a little. "I was still hurt…I shouldn't have come-"

And for the first time in their memory, the penguins saw their leader, the strong and commanding General, break down. She sobbed and wiped the blood from his face.

Byron's breath became shallow, he laughed. "I-I did it, Mom." He said, shaking a bit more. "I wanted to fly…and I did…flew off that ledge…I did…it…saved the civilian…always serve…"

"You did, and I'm proud of you." Sarah cried. "Honey, you did and I love you."

"I'm…thirsty…anyone got…some water?"

"Byron, you're the best and I'm sorry I criticized your helicopter landing skills." Skipper said.

"You're one cool kid." Johnny said.

"I've admired your sense of adventure." Rocky said.

"You've always been kind to me." Private said.

"I've always had respect for you, it was just hidden." Kowalski said.

Byron chuckled lightly

"I always thought your cat jokes were a little funny." Juno said.

"You were accepting me, even if everyone else thought I was stupid." Dan said.

Byron began gasping for air.

"Ryan, say something." Johnny hissed.

Zander rolled his eyes. "You're were a dreamer, kid." He said. "But you weren't as bad as some maggots I've had to teach."

"I kind of had a crush on you." Jordan blurted out.

Byron smiled, his eyes closed and his breath slowed to a stop.

Sarah held him in her flippers and continued to sob. Juno shook as she got the jet ready.

Johnny removed the knife from Byron's chest and threw it into the collapsed building. He winced with pain as he did so.

Rico, Kowalski, and Dan splashed Byron's body clean.

"A burial at sea." Johnny said. "That's what the kid needs. Anyone have a coffin?" he looked to Rico.

Rico hacked up measuring tape and wood. He measured Byron's body and in two minutes he made a coffin.

Johnny and Zander lifted Byron's body into the coffin and nailed the lid shut. Juno came out and saluted. The other penguins saluted as well. Both Rocky and Jordan had a flipper on Sarah's back. Sarah was still crying, but saluted as well.

"And now we say goodbye to a fine soldier." Skipper said. "He may have been a dreamer, but he was courageous and kind to others. He never wanted to let anything get him down. Byron, we will miss you." Zander and Johnny placed the crate in the water where it started to float away.

"And I'm sorry." Skipper added. "This is completely my fault."

Everyone looked confused, but no one asked. They all watched the coffin slowly sink until it had disappeared.

Then they got in the jet and Sarah tried to regain her composure. She noticed burn marks on Marlene and Private.

"What happened?" She said in a hoarse voice.

"Oh, the submarine was blown up." Private said.

No one pressed the subject further.

Once they had arrived in the base, Skipper requested a meeting with Sarah. He asked that his team, Marlene, Rocky, Jordan, Zander and Johnny be there. When asked why Jordan and Zander were to be there, he simply said that they had a right to know why they were at the base.

**A/N: Next is Skipper's explanation…might want to stick around if you're confused. Sorry if I made you sad, have a virtual cupcake.**


	28. Explanation, Skilene, and Innocence

Skipper Rico, Private, Kowalski, Sarah, Marlene, Rocky, Jordan, Zander and Johnny all sat around the table, waiting for Skipper to talk. Sarah's secretary brought some tea and food in for them. Skipper was given coffee instead of tea.

Skipper took a sip and looked around at everyone.

"Juno's not coming? She was there too." Skipper said.

"She's tending to Tory in the infirmary." Sarah said. "Everyone, please direct your attention to Skipper."

"Why do I have to be here?" Zander asked.

"Because, all of you have to hear the reason you were battling tonight." Skipper replied, "And if you don't want to hear it, then you can leave." He pointed to the door. "And I don't care if you tell me not to talk to a senior officer like that."

"Will you address why Kowalski was missing from your team? He looked like he was working for the enemy." Jordan said.

"Yes, I'll explain everything." Skipper said.

No one spoke, they just stared at Skipper, except for Kowalski was looking around at everyone else.

"It all started about a week before Nat and Josie came to the zoo." Skipper said. "I had come up with a plan that involved a spy planted in the enemy's territory. But it was not until after Kowalski was tortured that I revealed my plan to him, and only to him. He was an emotional wreck and we were to play on that."

"What?" Private asked.

"Let me explain…It was the day after we talked about the family reunion."(Chapter 18, day after they talk about family reunions, before Josie teaches Maya to say 'mommy')

**FLASHBACK...WHOOOO...**

"_Rico, take Private, Dan and Charlie to do some exercises." Skipper said._

_Rico nodded and grinned to the others._

_Once they were gone, Skipper entered Kowalski's lab._

_Kowalski was fiddling with a strange device._

_Skipper closed the door and Kowalski jumped, spilling things on the ground._

"_Sorry." Skipper said, locking the door._

"_That's fine." Kowalski said, gathering his things. "I was just trying to get back into the inventing mood."_

"_You seem a little jumpy."_

"_I'm fine."_

"_Well, you're not going to be when I tell you this." Skipper said._

"_What? Did something happen to one of the others?"_

"_No, I sent them to train."_

"_And you have a reason for excluding me from this?"_

"_Yes," Skipper said, drawing a deep breath, "I need you for a top secret mission?"_

"_A mission?" Kowalski asked suspiciously, "What do you mean?"_

_I mean I need you to play a successful role as a spy on Blowhole's side."_

"_And how am I to do that?"_

"_Leaving the team."_

"_Why would I-?"_

"_I'm going to push you to your limits so when the time comes, you can initiate the plan at a moment's notice."_

"_O-kay, but when do I know-"_

"_You don't know, not even I know. But when you are irritated enough, I will signal you to begin."_

_Kowalski nodded. "I accept the mission."_

**END FLASHBACK**

"I needed Kowalski to get in the role, so I created challenges that would give him a headache. I purposefully let him guide the new penguins around so he would get irritated. I pretended to think he was a baby so that he would be stressed. He was acting, and very well. I took him aside yesterday morning and talked to him about starting the plan. I told him that I had suspicions that he and Private shared the same mother, but he was not to say anything unless his dad did. And as luck would have it, he did. Kowalski knew that the plan could be deadly, but we had to try. In the moment before we began shouting at each other, I told him to begin the next phase. He was startled, but prepared to jump into his bitter role."

"I'm sorry that I couldn't say anything." Kowalski said. "Some of my feelings were truly anger, and it helped me trick Simon into thinking I was working for them. While I was there, I made inventions that would never work. They were just common household appliances."

"I predicted it could come this far." Skipper said, "And Kowalski and I were prepared to die trying…we thought Byron was here. I had to knock Kowalski back on the plan once he discovered Private was truly his brother. He needed to shed this image and get on with the plan. Now we have information on Blowhole's secret plans."

"So, when you talked to Sarah-"

"No Private, we didn't talk to her." Skipper said. "We needed to make you think it was a small conversation."

**FLASHBACK AGAIN**

"_The meeting was a complete disaster." Skipper scowled._

"_Not exactly. She knows the threat is larger now."_

"_We know absolutely nothing about Blowhole's plans."_

"_If only we had an agent in there."_

"_Do you mind if I talk to Sarah before we go?"_

_Rico shook his head._

"_Go ahead." Private said._

"_We'll be fi-"_

"_I want you to come with me."_

_Kowalski was stunned, but followed his leader's request. They made their way back in the direction of the office while Private and Rico wandered around, trying to find their way back to the helicopter._

_Skipper stopped once they were far enough away and turned to Kowalski._

"_We're not going back are we?" Kowalski asked._

_Skipper shook his head. "Remember the request I made of you before?"_

"_About being an agent? Yes, I remember."_

"_It looks like your moment is coming soon."_

"_My moment?"_

"_There's something I need to tell you first."_

"_What is it?"_

"_I am almost positive that your mother is in the safe village and that I know who she is…and you have a brother."_

_Kowalski was silent._

"_I'm sorry I didn't say anything before." Skipper said, trying to get something out of Kowalski._

"_Is it Private's mother?"_

_Skipper was shocked, "Well, that's my assumption."_

"_My father will be there, he'll know. I accept this mission more than ever, Skipper."_

"_Are you sure? The top risk of being a spy is that you could be killed."_

_Kowalski paused._

"_I need to ask you again. Are you, Kowalski Benjamin Taro, ready for this mission I have for you?"_

"_Yes." Kowalski said emotionlessly._

"_Whatever the consequence may be?"_

"_Whatever the consequence may be."_

_**Early morning, two days ago.**_

"_We now have to worry about two things, Marlene and this invention of Kowalski's." Skipper glared at Kowalski._

"_I didn't put Marlene in danger." Kowalski said defensively._

"_Can I speak to you alone, up top?" Skipper asked._

"_It's raining." Private said._

"_I'll go." Kowalski said as if he hadn't heard Private._

_Skipper and Kowalski proceeded up top while the others stayed down._

"_Now." Skipper whispered._

"_Are you sure?"Kowalski whispered back, looking taken aback._

"_Start now!" Skipper hissed urgently as thunder boomed overhead._

"_What do I say?"_

"_Anything."_

"_WHAT?! Is that what you think?!" Kowalski shouted angrily._

**END FLASHBACK**

"And that's how we officially started the mission." Skipper concluded.

"So this was all a trick?" Jordan said angrily. "There you go, you don't care about anyone but yourself and-"

"I TRIED!" Skipper bellowed, losing his temper. "SHUT UP ALREADY! I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU PUTTING ME DOWN ON EVERYTHING AND MAKING ME LOOK LIKE THE BAD GUY!"

"YOU'RE MAKING YOURSELF LOOK-"

"STOP IT!" Private screamed. "Please, stop." He was shaking, tears formed in his eyes.

"Private-"

"NO!" Private said. "Y-you didn't tell me…I trusted you, Rico trusted you, and neither of you told us!" Rico nodded, he looked upset.

"Pri-"

"No Skipper, you can't even trust your own team." Private said. "And now I don't trust you."

"Come on, Private-"

"It's true!" Private yelled, tears now running down his face, "I-I looked up to you and you ruined that. You can't even bother to tell me that you thought my mother was Kowalski's mother too. Why can't I know anything? Is it because I'm too young? Is that it? Or do you just not trust me? And Kowalski," He turned to the scientist, "do you even care that we're brothers?"

"Of course I do." Kowalski said with a hurt expression. "I didn't want to hurt-"

"YOU DID!" Private screamed. "You hurt me, both of you! How can I trust my own leader again?"

"And the walls crumble." Jordan smirked.

"Shut it!" Skipper snapped.

"Skipper." Sarah said. "You could have said something."

"No, I couldn't." Skipper said.

"Why not?" Johnny asked.

"The less that knew, the better. I thought it would be a giveaway if everyone knew what we were about to do. I needed to get real emotion out of everyone."

"Yeah?" Private asked, "How about this? I QUIT!" he shouted, leaving the room quickly.

"Private!" Skipper said, making a movement towards the door.

Rico stopped him. "No."

"Stand down, Rico."

"No." Rico said simply.

"This is a direct violation of-"

"Leave."

"Leave? Leave what?"

"Him."

"Private?"

Rico nodded seriously.

"Go after him, please." Skipper said.

Rico disappeared in a flash.

Kowalski avoided eye contact with anyone and chose instead to look down at his flippers.

"I'm sorry." Skipper said to Sarah. "I accept full responsibility for the death of Byron."

"It's my fault too; I should have made sure he stayed." Sarah said. "Don't let Private go. I've seen too many teams ruined by argument, yours included. You four are the perfect team, don't let it disband, I certainly believe that the plan was necessary. Kowalski, you may tell me what information you have secured after this meeting."

"You're letting him off again." Jordan said, "I don't believe it-"

"I support him." Rocky said. "My brother knows what he's doing and he tried his best to make sure the team was safe all these years. I think the plan was brilliant, even if it didn't go the way we wanted it to."

"I agree, it was a pretty good plan, a bunch of flaws were there, but pretty good." Johnny said. "And you have to admit, Byron was never one to sit down and watch, he always wanted to be a part of the action."

"That's true." Sarah said. "Even as a baby, he wouldn't sit still while I fed him."

"So, you were willing to put your life on the line for something that might not even go well?" Zander asked.

"Yes." Kowalski said.

"And Skipper was willing to lose you in the process?"

Neither Skipper nor Kowalski answered.

"What are you saying?" Marlene said, immediately firing up.

"If you must know, civilian, I am saying that Skipper would have used Kowalski as a puppet and let him be ki-"

"That's a lie." Skipper snapped. "I would risk my life for my team, heck; I'd risk it for the zoo, for New York, for everyone on our side or who isn't trying to kill us."

"But you let Kowalski into enemy territory."

"I was preparing to die trying to save Marlene, Kowalski, and the invention while getting information on latest tactics." Skipper said, "You're the one who doesn't care. You visited the zoo without authorization, tried to work the life out of my soldiers and threw an innocent baby lemur out of our habitat by her tail."

Sarah looked furious, "You do realize that harming innocent civilians would be serious rule breaking."

"While you discuss this, I'm going after Private." Skipper said. "Marlene, Kowalski, please follow me." He headed out the door followed by Marlene and Kowalski.

He spotted Rico at the far end of the hall, patting Private on the back.

"I knew he wouldn't go far." Kowalski said.

Skipper nodded absently and turned to Marlene. "You were trying to defend me." He stated. "Does that mean you're not angry with me?"

"Why would I be? Unless it was your idea to have me kidnapped, then I see no reason to be mad at you." Marlene said with a smile.

"It wasn't part of my plan, in fact it only made me want to start it sooner which was probably why we went into battle sooner. I was hoping for Kowalski to stay there at least a week, but I needed you to be safe."

Kowalski coughed.

"What?" Skipper asked.

"*cough*kiss her*cough*"

"What? Oh, I get-"

Marlene cut him off with a kiss. Skipper was pleasantly surprised and kissed her back.

Kowalski grinned. "Marlene, I think we should take you to the infirmary." He said after a while.

"Oh, right." Marlene said softly.

"You do know what this means, right?" Skipper asked with a huge smile.

"What?" Marlene said, smiling back.

"We'll never hear the end of it from Julien."

"I'm prepared to take it; it'll be mostly on you though."

"And you'll never hear the end of it from Josie."

"Again, prepared to take it. Are you?"

"I've been ready since I first met Ringtail."

Marlene laughed and followed Kowalski to the infirmary.

Skipper's smile hung around for another minute before he turned around. He inhaled deeply and approached the other two members of his team. Skipper caught Rico's eye and motioned for him to come. Rico walked over to his leader while Private resumed staring outside the window.

"Rico, are you still mad?" Skipper asked.

"Uh-huh." Rico replied.

"I don't mean psychotic mad, I mean angry mad."

"Oh…no."

"Thanks, and I'm sorry for not telling you before. I know I can trust you with my life. Now, go see if Sarah's trying to kill Zander now." Skipper said. "It'll give us all a laugh. And tell Rocky we're going back to the village. I think we need more time to spend with our families."

Rico gave the biggest smile he could and slid off on his stomach.

Skipper stood next to Private and stared out the window as well. Neither of them spoke, just stood. Outside, someone was setting up the training field with mines and barbed wire.

"Percy Jonas." Skipper finally said.

"Huh?" Private said vaguely.

"Percy Jonas Sorenson, that's my name."

Private looked up at Skipper in confusion.

"I said I'd tell you my name if we survived." Skipper said.

"Percy Jonas?" Private asked.

"Yeah, it was my name until I was three, Brian thought I needed a leader's name and called me Skipper."

"Who's Brian?"

"My older brother, the third of my mom's children, he was nice when he wasn't teasing me. But Toby was the main teaser, he's the second oldest. And Chris was my oldest brother, I respected him a lot. He agreed that Skipper was a cool nickname and so did my dad."

"What was his name?"

"George."

"How old were you when-"

"Four. They were killed the day I turned four."

"Is that why you don't really celebrate your birthday?" Private asked.

"Yeah." Skipper sighed. "After that, I didn't remember it as the exciting day I burst out of my shell, but the day I lost almost everything. Honestly, I would hate to lose any of you guys. Please don't hate me too much."

"I couldn't hate you, not really." Private said. "I just needed to calm down a bit."

"We're going to see our families again."

"Yay!" Private clapped.

They both smiled and looked out the window again.

Skipper was thinking about Marlene when Private suddenly hugged him.

"Oh Skipper!" He was crying.

"Whoa, what happened?"

"Is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"T-there's g-going to be a-a war…I don't want i-it to be." Private gasped.

Skipper sighed. "Private, I hope we can end this soon. Yes, there is going to be one. Maybe we'll humble Blowhole to go back to his failed series of revenges."

"What if I'm asked to use weapons? I don't want to hurt anybody!"

"You won't. You're innocent and adorable; I want to keep you that way."

"But-"

"If it comes to it, then I don't want you in the battle field. I'll fight for you to be somewhere else, away from the action."

"But then I couldn't stand not knowing what happens to everyone else."

"That's tough then, I don't know."

All of the sudden, a loud blare interrupted their conversation.

"ALL SOLDIERS REPORT TO THE MAIN FIELD, THIS IS NOT A DRILL. I REPEAT, ALL SOLDIERS TO THE MAIN FIELD, THIS IS NOT A DRILL."


	29. The first battle

Private looked in horror at Skipper, both of them paled immediately. They ran through the corridors until they spotted a swarm of animals exiting to the field.

If Private had time, he would have admired the amazing contraptions designed to test each soldier to their strengths, but he was pushed on and continued. He stuck to Skipper who wove his way through the crowd until he spotted Rico and Kowalski.

Sarah was standing on a set of benches above everyone; she held a loudspeaker and waited for everyone to gather.

"What's going on?"

"Is it battle time?"

"I wasn't finished eating"

"Shush, she's about to say something."

The chatter died down as the last stragglers came to the giant crowd. It might have seemed like a giant crowd to Private, but in reality, it was the smallest number they'd had in over a hundred years. There must have been five hundred animals there, but Sarah knew there was a time when there were more than ten thousand animals in the Antarctic Force. Unfortunately those numbers were drastically cut down over the course of one hundred years, some by old age, but most by hard battles that hadn't culminated in an all out war.

"Hello, my fellow soldiers." She spoke, ringing out loud and clear, "I am afraid I have distressing news, word has reached me that in the recent hour, there have been attacks where our agents are placed."

A few gasps came from the crowd, but she dismissed them.

"I am afraid that it is what my grandfather always feared that has come at last. A war with the opposition is the only alternative we have left. Our agents are being struck down, and I have received word that Antarctica is being targeted. New technological advances have allowed them to speed through land, sea, and air. Our sea patrol has been dispatched, but as we are so little, they will surely come onto land. Our air patrol is being sent out now."

She paused as several fighter jets zoomed overhead.

"And now I ask of the rest of you to fight on land, for the world is at stake. The village is no longer safe and is being evacuated. The goal is to draw the enemy away from the civilians. I wish for you to know that all of you are important to me, and that I do not take any loss in vain. Our main goal is to get to Koru, he is the most vicious. I dismiss you now to patrol our boarders and protect us. Go now, and may you be honorable."

The crowd dispersed hurriedly, except for Skipper and his team, Rocky, and Marlene.

"Marlene is being sent into hiding." Sarah said. "I have brought her so you may say goodbye for now."

"I'll be protecting her and the other villagers." Rocky said.

"Bone, show Taro, Blue, and Davis the weapons we've developed." Sarah said. "Sorenson, follow me." She said to Rocky.

Skipper sighed, "Marlene, I-"

"No, no words." Marlene said. "This isn't goodbye. I'll see you again."

"But I could-"

"I will see you again." Marlene said.

"Alright, see you." Skipper said.

And then they kissed.

It was with a heavy heart that they departed. Marlene went with Rocky to safety, and Skipper followed Sarah.

"General Kent, we're ready." A soldier said.

"Good, you have my order to go." Sarah said.

"Sarah, I was wondering, could you keep Private in the safe village too?" Skipper asked.

"That's a negative; we need all the help we can get." Sarah replied.

"But he's innocent, and if he could be like a nurse or something-"

"We have our medical team on standby."

"Could he be out of the action? As I said, he's innocent…he's only seventeen. I know what horrors await us, but he doesn't. He saw Byron die, but he doesn't know it could be much worse. Please don't give him a job on the field."

"Skipper, I've always liked your team, you know that. I respect your request to have him out of action, but I have to deny it. I understand he's like a son to you," She said as Skipper opened his beak, "but the fact is that he's a good soldier and we need him."

"He's terrified."

"To be honest, we all are. I'll try to keep him on the low lines, but he's in the battle field."

She left Skipper in silence.

"Skipper, we better go." Kowalski said, approaching the leader. "Rico's going crazy over the weapons."

Johnny hurried ahead of them with something held in his flippers and Rico trailing behind him.

Kowalski was carrying an assortment of weaponry. Skipper saw Private walking slowly behind.

"He's not getting out of the battle field." Skipper said.

"What?!" Kowalski yelped. "But Private's a child-"

"I said that, and she said he can't even be part of the medical team. I wish I didn't have to put him in this situation…why couldn't he be as innocent and carefree as Mikayla or Julien." Skipper groaned.

"Let's just survive this, okay?" Kowalski said. "We're a team, we'll stick together."

Skipper grabbed some weapons. "Fine, but I'm not letting Private get killed."

"He'll probably try to hide." Kowalski said.

"That's fine with me, I'd rather die a thousand times than let anything happen to him, or any of you."

Kowalski smiled, "Thanks." They approached the line of animals and prepared for something to happen.

Private whimpered from behind.

BOOM!

A loud explosion sounded from ahead and cloud of icy dust rose. Out from the cloud came mean looking animals and tank-like machines rolling on the surface.

Everyone had ducked into some trenches.

From the base, bigger tanks barreled through to the other side. One crashed into the enemy's tank and both exploded with extreme force.

"MOVE IT!" Zander shouted.

Private scrambled to where some other animals were.

"Johnson?" Private said.

"Hey kid, what're you doing here?"

"Trying not to pee."

Johnson laughed. "It can be scary, keep your beak down and you're less likely to get hurt." He rose up and fired his gun. "Dang! Missed him."

Private looked scandalized. "You weren't trying to kill, were you?"

"This is war, kid. You do what you have to." Johnson replied.

"FRONT LINES, GO! THEY'RE APPROACHING, GO!"

A bunch of animals charged towards the oncoming enemy. Private covered his ear holes as several explosion and shots were heard. He heard Rico shout from somewhere on his right.

"This can't be happening." He saw Skipper some ways away, looking pale and sweaty.

"MOVE IT, SHRIMP!" Zander shouted, pushing Private out of the way.

Then it was silent. Zander peeked up and quickly ducked as a shot fired towards him.

It wore on like this all day; it was almost midnight when Private fell asleep. Loud explosions woke him up.

"IDIOT! NEVER FALL ASLEEP!" Zander shouted, hitting Private across the face.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Kowalski shouted.

"KABOOM!" Rico's voice shouted and there was another explosion.

Zander glared at Kowalski and moved to another spot.

"If you're tired, I'll cover you." Kowalski said with a wink.

Private smiled and fell asleep.

"Wake up!" Someone hissed.

"Who?" Private said groggily, the sky was pale with sunlight.

"They've withdrawn for now, but they'll be back."

Private blinked and saw Skipper. He had several bleeding wounds and a nasty bump on his head.

"You're okay."

"For now, let's get down here." He saw a nestled spot in a deep part of the trench.

They settled in and saw their tired comrades around them. Many were sleeping while the rest stayed on guard. Kowalski was asleep and Rico was bandaging Johnson's flipper.

"Has anyone died yet?" Private asked, fearing the answer.

"Yeah, some on their side and I think a couple on ours."

"And have you-"

"I don't know who caused their final blows."

"Zander yelled at me."

"I heard, and Kowalski defends you pretty well."

"Yeah," Private said, looking at Kowalski. "He really does."

Skipper yawned.

"Go to sleep, I'll protect you."

"Really?" Skipper asked.

"It's the least I could do after you've protected me all these years."

Skipper smiled and drifted to sleep. Private stretched and looked down the lines, so many were already injured and he feared for his life and for the life of his friends.

For days, or it seemed, it continued like this, neither sides making any advances and neither looked like they were winning. Private couldn't keep track of time, he'd forgotten the last time he'd seen Kowalski.

More soldiers on both sides were killed, and everyone was injured in some way. Private had narrowly escaped bullet wounds and only had his flipper cut by a flung knife.

"GO!" Bone shouted, charging forward. The entire force charged into the approaching enemy line. It was chaos, bangs and explosions sounded everywhere.

Private felt like it was a dream, everything seemed to go slowly. He retreated back to the trenches and peered over the top.

"EVERYONE OUT OF THE TRENCHES!" Someone shouted. "THEY'RE SETTING IT ON FIRE!"

Private didn't immediately register this until he felt a heat wave and saw flames quickly shooting their way into the trench. He scrambled up just in time and received another smack from Zander.

"MAGGOT! PAY ATTENTION!"

Private didn't have time to respond as the ice began cracking. The fire was melting away the ice and very quickly.

Private ran through the fighting crowd, trying to find his friends. He turned as something slammed into him.

He screamed, realizing it was a dead ally with horrible wounds.

The ice cracked more and began to split, tossing several animals into the water below.

Private saw that the fire was gone, but there was a clear ten feet of water separating them from the mainland.

"LOOK OUT!" A voice yelled.

A giant missile fell from the sky and there were several splashes as soldiers plunged into the water to avoid it. Private was pushed from behind and felt a rumble that indicated the missile had made contact with land, and then he passed out.

Zander had directed all remaining soldiers to the only building left standing where a medical team was taking care of the injured.

Kowalski refused to rest and wanted to help. He had a swollen foot and several cuts on his left flipper and the left side of his face. He finally succumbed to laying down when he was threatened with having to speak to Zander.

A frantic looking bird flitted around with a clipboard and stopped when Zander had entered. The penguin whispered something and the bird looked worried.

"Hello," The bird said into a microphone. "My name is Will and I have just been given confirmation on the census. We have three hundred dead, and four missing. The missing penguins are: Johnny Bone,"

Several animals gasped.

"Skipper Sorenson,"

Kowalski groaned in pain.

"Rico Blue,"

"No…" Kowalski said, trying not to cry, hoping the next name wouldn't be-

"And Private Andre Davis."

"NO!" Kowalski screamed in anguish, unable to keep the tears from flowing down his face.

**A/N: This is only the beginning battle of this war. Am I going too fast?**


	30. Unnerving calm

It took two penguins to hold Kowalski back as he attempted to make a beeline for the door. Normally, it would have taken more penguins, but Kowalski's foot wouldn't allow him to move fast.

"Didn't the kid fall in the water?" Somebody asked.

Kowalski looked up, "M-my brother…h-has anyone seen Private?"

"Had to duck a blast, but I swear I saw him in the water."

"He's not here now." Zander growled. "So get over it."

Kowalski tackled Zander and punched him. "THAT'S MY TEAM! THEY'RE MY BROTHERS!"

He was taken off of the older penguin. "That's my brother…" Kowalski said weakly.

Zander looked murderous. "You're in trouble for that. We're in the middle of a war and you just attack-"

"RYAN ZANDER!" Someone shouted. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Sarah limped towards them, looking like she'd seen better days.

"Are you okay?" Kowalski asked.

"I'm fine, it'll take a lot more to take me down. Besides, if I wasn't here, you'd be taking orders from this clown."

"General Kent, please lay back down." A nurse said, attempting to continue bandaging her.

Sarah waved it off, "Don't worry, we'll find them." She told Kowalski. "Someone check his foot." She said. "I don't' think it should be swollen that badly."

"Something bit me." Kowalski told a nurse. "I think it was after I twisted my foot, then it got cut on a rock and I was down for a while when it bit me. I think it might have been poisonous." He eyed the greenish color of his foot.

Meanwhile, a small penguin had found a hole in the ice and waited, but nothing happened. He had his eyes squeezed tight and hardly dared to move or open his eyes. He felt himself surface after a while, but he didn't hear anything. He opened his eyes, hardly daring to believe them. He gasped, soldiers were lying dead on the ice and everything was silent. He looked around; there had been more explosions that he had thought. The base was almost completely in ruins and chunks of ice, carrying the dead, drifted from the mainland. There wasn't a living thing in sight. He cried silently and shivered in the cold. Then he heard a barely audible groan and saw a body twitch.

He shook with fear as he climbed onto the ice. He walked towards the twitching body and was barely able to recognize him.

"J-Johnson?"

"Andre?"

"They call me Private now." He said to the bleeding penguin.

"H-hey kid…could you…I need…water…" Johnson gasped.

Private looked around and saw a canteen on another soldier. He took it off quickly and shook it. It appeared to still have water in it. He took this back to Johnson and helped him drink it.

"Skipper didn't hate you." Private said. "He was sorry he had to do what he did."

Johnson chuckled, "Of course…I don't hate him…anymore…I was just…jealous…"

"Of what?"

"You…you were…the youngest…and they…paid attention…to…to you…"

"I'm sorry." Private cried, "Is there any way to save you?"

"Take…me…"

"Where?"

"Sister…"

"Okay." Private heaved Johnson up and dragged him slowly towards the ruined base. "I think they might be in there." He nodded to the only building that was left standing.

Carefully, and slowly, they made their way across the ice.

Johnson groaned in response. They had crossed a piece of thin ice still connected to the mainland and were much closer.

"Wa…"

"We'll get you water, I promise. You'll see your sister again…and Skipper…Skipper will be there…"

Private sagged under Johnson's weight.

"Try to hold it, we're almost there."

Johnson let out a breath that might have been a chuckle.

Private was too tired to yell for help and he feared that he could drop Johnson if he tried.

Johnson grew heavier.

"Hang on." Private groaned, pulling Johnson closer to the building. The injured penguin seemed heavier than five seconds ago.

He was ten feet away and wincing under the heavy weight of Johnson.

"We're here." Private said with a small smile. "We made it, we'll get you help."

Johnson didn't reply. Private looked at him with concern, and then screamed, unintentionally dropping Johnson.

The doors burst open on them.

"Private?" Kowalski said hoarsely.

Private didn't know what to say. He stood there, pale and scared.

"I-I tr-tried t-to b-bring h-him b-back." Private sobbed as Kowalski limped over, with the aid of a nurse, to hug him.

Kowalski gave Private a big hug. "It's okay," he said, trying to calm the younger one.

"But I promised." Private said, "I told him I'd get him water and I'd get him to his sister."

"You did. Jordan's here." Kowalski said.

"I-"

Private was interrupted when Zander pushed Kowalski aside and smacked the younger penguin.

"WHAT WERE YOU DOING?!" He shouted.

"I-I was-"

"I don't want to know. What I want to know is why you were messing around when we were worried about you! Johnson's dead and you just brought him back here?"

"He was alive a minute ago, I swear! I thought I was saving him."

"WELL YOU DIDN'T! YOU ACTED TERRIBLY!"

"No he did not." Sarah said. "Zander, you are confined to your seat until I can come up with something else."

Zander grumbled and stalked off.

Sarah helped Kowalski to his feet.

"Private," Jordan said, "thank you for bringing him back."

"But I failed." Private said, tears still pouring down his face.

"Don't listen to Zander," Kowalski said, wincing from his foot pain.

Private suddenly gasped, "Where are Rico and Skipper?"

"They're missing." Kowalski said, trying not to cry.

"No!" Private said.

"I didn't see them when I came in here. I hadn't seen Rico since I took that nap. By the way, it's hard to take a nap on a battlefield."

"I want to go home." Private cried, burrowing his face into Kowalski's chest. "I want to see Central Park and the leaves change color, and I want to see the Lunacorns, and go on missions and I just want to be with friends and I wouldn't even mind Julien with his music and- and-"

"I know." Kowalski said, gently rubbing Private's back. "It's going to be alright, we'll see Julien and Marlene and everyone else again. Skipper's tough, he won't go down without a fight. And I'd like to see anyone try to make Rico angry and get away without a scratch."

Private didn't respond, he just cried and held on, "Promise you'll stay." He mumbled.

"I promise, you're my brother and my teammate." Kowalski said, "I'll be here for you, no matter what."

Eventually, Kowalski was taken to a bed to be examined by the nurses. Private was allowed to stay next to him and hold his uninjured flipper. Both of them learned that it had already been a week and a half since the first attack and that time had seemed to move fast.

Johnson's body had to be removed as it was already starting to smell bad. It would have taken a while longer to smell, but he hadn't showered in a long time and was already ill-smelling before he died. His death was contributed to traumatic brain injury and profuse loss of blood due to wounds in his chest, sides, and flippers.

Central Park Zoo had been reopened once investigators decided that it must have been a blown sewer pipe under a lot of pressure. Luckily, the penguins' HQ was not closely examined and their secret was safe. The animals were starting to be called back to the zoo and so far, only small animals were back as they were the easiest to transport. The bigger animals, like the gorillas, had to wait for special trucks to transport them back to their home. Marlene was still in the village which had relocated to South America.

Sarah thought it would be a good idea if the agents disbanded and lay low for a while until the enemy struck again. A few days later, most of the agents had been dispatched to various countries and resumed life in the wild, zoos or parks. They were told to keep an eye out for signs of Skipper or Johnny.

The water was beginning to freeze again and the bodies of their dead were gathered and cremated. The ashes were then blown across the base and respects were paid to them. Witnesses say they saw Rico before he disappeared and a search began before the ice could freeze a mile thick.

Rico, it transpired, had fallen in the ice for an extended amount of time and now lay in a coma. He had been partially frozen and partially burnt. They thought he must have gotten stuck in the ice when the trenches caught fire. The nurses thought he had a mild case of hypothermia, but being a penguin allowed him to tolerate event the freezing Antarctic sea. They then discovered he had a very bad cold as his breathing was ragged and sounded harsh. He was turned on his side so he could cough up any mucous, which he did along with a stick of dynamite, a shoe, some fish, and many other things. They took this as a good sign that his body was performing normally, or what they called 'Rico normal' and his brain was still working, but not waking him up.

Kowalski, Private, and Rico were placed in the new safe village with their families, minus Kowalski's father. Rex thanked the other two for bringing Rico and was confident that his son would make a full recovery. Kowalski was happy to be treated like family with the others. Candace spent as much time as possible with her boys, trying to soothe them. Skipper's mother was upset and constantly stared at the doorway as if her son was about to burst through. Rocky stayed by her side, sometimes chatting with Kowalski or Marlene. Marlene also cried when she remembered the last time she saw Skipper. Nat, who hadn't come back to the zoo with them in the first place, was chatting with Rikki.

The penguins found out that their habitat was almost empty except for Mikayla. Charlie had been brought to protect the safe village and that left only one penguin. Mikayla said she hadn't been down there because the fish hatch was locked. Kowalski thought that Rico must have triggered the emergency defense systems after they left or at least set it up so if the HQ was ever left unattended by an authorized penguin, lockdown would commence after some time. Kowalski assumed that Mikayla hadn't been entered as authorized personnel even though she lived there too. She snuck into Marlene's habitat at night to keep warm and was allowed to stay at the lemur habitat when she wanted to visit.

"I'm scared." She had confessed to Kowalski once she had spoken to him over the radio. The two-way radio was given to Marlene in case of emergency and to Josie as well. Marlene's had been knocked into the water of her habitat, but Josie kept hers in a safe place. She lent hers to Mikayla when she was sure that Julien was too busy giving Maya another dance lesson.

Skipper had known that Julien would attempt prank calls and that's why the radio was given to Josie. Maurice was the only other lemur who knew about the spare and didn't tell Skipper. Josie had moved it without Maurice knowing, just in case Julien ordered him under threat of banishment.

"It'll be fine." Kowalski told her. "You're all safe now."

"I don't feel safe." Mikayla said. "The baby likes me and I'm scared."

"What happened to you was an accident," Kowalski said. "That doesn't mean you should dislike all babies. Take it from me, I was tortured by a girl and I still like girls."

"But you weren't killed-"

"I almost was."

"Okay, you're right, I'm being silly." Mikayla sighed. "When are you guys coming back?"

"We don't know yet."

"Can I at least know how to get in the habitat? I'd feel safer knowing that I could lock myself inside if I feel scared."

"I'm sorry, I would like if you all were safe, but it takes authorized personnel to open our HQ. And even if you tried to sneak in you…er…trust me, you're okay."

There were other conversations like this, but it all ended in Kowalski trying to assure their newest resident that everything would be alright.

"Can we go back home?" Private asked when they received word that all of the animals had officially returned to the zoo, except for four penguins.

"Not until we can determine where the enemy will strike next." The messenger had said.

"Kowalski, are there any more agents left on Blowhole's side?" Private asked.

"I have no idea; we could be facing the last of them." Kowalski said. "From my point of view, we're done."

"Done?"

"The animals are tired of fighting, I could tell during battle." Kowalski said. "If Sarah hadn't disbanded everyone, I'm positive that there would have been a mutiny."

Private didn't have a response. He didn't press the subject again, but he was quieter over the next few days. Marlene and Nat were brought back to the zoo and it made Private only wanted to go back more.

Nights were warmer than in Antarctica and they had beds made of leaves and thin blankets to cover them. Sometimes it was cold, but they couldn't bring everything from the village or it would have weighed them down.

Skipper was the subject of most conversations and theories on what could have happened ran through their minds. Rico seemed to be doing better, but he still hadn't woken up. Rex had full confidence that Rico would wake up soon and refused to have him moved.

Johnny Bone had been found on an island east of them. He lost his childish personality and looked quite demented and paranoid. He was looking everywhere with wide bloodshot eyes and his feathers were gray and stained with blood. The corneas of his eyes were damaged; his body was skinny and sunken. He either couldn't or wouldn't tell what happened to him. He didn't seem to recognize anyone and he didn't know to communicate for some reason, and had lung problems. Burn marks on his body indicated that whoever tortured him was hoping to kill him once they left. Remnants of a burnt building were on the island as well; apparently it had exploded upon being burnt.

Sarah, who was staying in the village as well, came to the conclusion that Bone was unable to provide information or was tortured into doing something and then an attempt to kill him by burning the building was unsuccessful, though no one checked if he was dead or not. He also might have been starved as a way of tricking him into revealing information.

Before counselors could get to him, Bone had died of heart failure. He smelled worse than Johnson had and was removed to where he could be examined. They couldn't detect the foul odor until they called in Kowalski, the only scientist nearby.

Kowalski was able to examine Bone and discovered that large amounts of Hydrogen fluoride gas must have been released into the burning building where Bone was being held. The poison had immediately begun its work and permanently damaged his lungs and the corneas of his eyes. By interfering with body calcium metabolism, the concentrated acid caused systemic toxicity and eventually took Johnny's life.

In the ruins, they also found another room where Skipper might have been held. It was hard to say because it was collapsed, but there was a feather and blood spots around it. In DNA testing both the bloody feather, and Skipper's mother, Kowalski and the medical specialists discovered that it belonged to Skipper. They found no body in the ruins and concluded that Skipper was taken with his captor.

"Is Private awake?" Kowalski said one morning, stretching on his leafy bed.

Rocky looked over and smiled, "What a sleepy head." She said.

Kowalski narrowed his eyes. There was an odd dent that looked like he could be holding it if he weren't facing away from them.

Kowalski walked over and pulled the sheets off, gasping. Inside the sheets was a stuffed penguin toy. He looked at Rico who had his mouth open as if someone had taken something out.

Kowalski looked around and found a note on top of Rico's stomach.

Rocky came up from behind and read the letter as well.

It said:

Dear Kowalski,

I've gone to find Skipper because I'm worried about him. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. And I'm sorry if I scared you or my mother. I took a crowbar from Rico's stomach to defend myself, but as I said, I'll be fine.

Love,

Private

**A/N: Please leave me your thoughts.**


	31. Unplanned mission

"Dang it, Private," Kowalski whispered, "Now I have to make sure he's safe."

"With an injury like that?" Rocky said skeptically, "Yeah, I don't think so."

"Roxanne, he's my teammate and most of all, my little brother. Ask yourself this, would you leave your little brother to fend off who knows what on a crazy unauthorized mission where he could possibly be killed?"

Rocky stared at Kowalski, "Of course I wouldn't, maybe I should just go and-"

"No, I'll be alright if you come along with me, but I'm not staying." Kowalski said defiantly.

"But your foot-"

"Will be fine, I'm more worried about Private. A crowbar isn't going to help him."

"Then it's a mission." Rikki said unexpectedly. The other two jumped.

"When did you wake up?" Kowalski asked.

"When Rico gagged sometime last night and then when you gasped loudly a minute ago." Rikki said.

"You saw Private leave, why didn't you stop him?"

"I'm blind, genius." Rikki said, rolling her eyes. "Of course I didn't know Private left; I just thought Rico was regurgitating something in his sleep."

"Sorry, I forgot…" Kowalski muttered embarrassedly.

"It's easy to forget that I'm blind, I've never hung around you before."

"Rikki, can you keep it a secret that we've gone after Private?" Rocky asked, approaching Rico.

"I want to go with you." Rikki said.

"Oh no, no way." Kowalski said. "First, you're blind and are already a vulnerable target. Second, we'd move faster without worrying about you. And third, if anything happened to you then Rico would murder me."

"But I care too!"

"I know, but you need to stay here with Rico. And please keep it a secret that we're going."

"I didn't see anything." Rikki said, grinning and staring to the far left of Rocky.

"Haha, very funny." Kowalski said, bandaging his foot. He was hoping to cushion it so he wouldn't feel it.

"Um, Kowalski?" Rocky said. "Do I just…er…" she pointed to Rico, "stick my flipper…it's a bit awkward considering…you know, it's his mouth…and he's…out…" she looked at Kowalski nervously. "Awkward moment…"

"No problem." Kowalski said with a slight chuckle, walking over to her. He reached inside Rico and found some fish. "I think that's all he can give us. We'd need him conscious to get more than that."

"What about a crowbar?"

"Private has it, and Rico didn't bring a spare."

Rocky nodded and ate a fish. "Yum." She said.

Kowalski ate his fish and smiled. "Well, we're off." He said. "Remember, you didn't…er…hear anything, alright?"

"Nope, I was asleep." Rikki said, winking at the wall.

"Good." Kowalski said, exiting the hut with Rocky.

"He couldn't have gone far, could he?" Rocky asked.

"I'm not certain, it's hard to tell when he left."

"Look!" She hissed, pointing to the ground. "That footprint might be his."

Kowalski stared at it for a minute. "Actually, it's not. It's an older penguin's."

"How can you tell?" Rocky wondered as they crept further into the jungle.

"I know shapes of feet; even penguins have different foot shapes, though it's hard to tell sometimes."

"Speaking of feet, is your foot giving you problems?" Rocky asked.

Kowalski winced, "A little, but I can muscle through it." he said.

"Sure." Rocky muttered to herself, Kowalski appeared not to have heard her.

A shuffling noise made her look down. "What was that?" She asked.

Kowalski showed her a strange device.

"Is that the thing you were trying to perfect?" She asked.

"Nope." Kowalski responded. "It's a locator." He held it out for her to see. "I find something of Private's, put it here," he indicated a small tray. "And it tells me where he is."

"Can it find my brother?" Rocky asked excitedly.

"Sure, but I'd need a feather or something."

"The evidence found on the island!" Rocky said. "Don't go anywhere." She zipped off, leaving Kowalski to look around for more clues as to where Private could be.

A few minutes later, Rocky was back with the feather. "Dude, we're in trouble." She said.

"Why?" Kowalski asked, anxiety flooding him.

"My mom was waking up, and so was yours."

"Oh good golly, we have to work fast." He whipped out the device and put the feather on it.

The locator started flashing; it appeared as if Skipper was in the ocean.

"They must have a base coming up from the water." Kowalski said. "What's that?" he asked, pointing to a bush.

Rocky examined it and then jumped, "It's a feather!" she said excitedly.

Kowalski took it, smelled it, and then licked it. "Private." He said.

"How do you do that?" Rocky asked.

"Scientific research." Kowalski replied simply, placing the feather on the device. "He's not too far from us actually, he's taking a break."

"Then let's go, silently." Rocky said.

Kowalski nodded and led the way, they moved as quickly as they could.

Skipper's dot was stationary, but Private's was on the move again.

"He's going the wrong way." Kowalski whispered. "He's so close to us. I need you to pin him down until I can get there." He said. "Obviously I can't move that fast." He indicated his foot.

Rocky nodded and slid away as fast as she could. Kowalski hurried after her, keeping his eye on the device. Private's dot made an abrupt stop and seemed to be shaking; Kowalski heard a yelp and a grunt.

He pushed through the brush to see Rocky holding Private down while he struggled to get away.

"Private, do you realize how dangerous this is?" Kowalski said as soon as he was within earshot, "You could have been hurt or killed, what you were thinking? Mom could be worried sick by now, not to mention Rocky's mother and-"

"What about Skipper?" Private asked. "I can't leave him; he's my friend and our leader."

"He's my friend too." Kowalski said, "And you can't do this alone."

Rocky got off of Private, "Yeah, we're going with you." She said with a huge grin. "I'm not going to let you take all the credit for saving my little bro. He's my brother and I want to save him too, but we have to be rational about this."

"Why couldn't we save your brother earlier?" Private said.

"Because I had to save mine," Kowalski said, "I recently found out you're my brother and I'm not letting anything get in the way of my job now."

Private smiled at Kowalski. "You're the best big brother I could wish for."

"Now let's go save our other brother." Kowalski said.

The three of them walked to the beach so they were directly across from Skipper's dot.

"Impossible." Kowalski whispered, scratching his head. "It says here that Skipper's…well…he should be within sight, but I don't see anything."

"What if he's drowned?" Private gasped in horror.

"Or, he could be in an underwater base." Rocky said. "Would that be scientifically accurate?" she asked Kowalski, giving him a childish look.

"Yes, Roxanne, it would." Kowalski said with a hint of annoyance.

"Don't call me Roxanne." She hissed furiously.

Kowalski drew something in the sand and walked around it. He said it was a theory he had, then without warning, he plunged into the ocean. Rocky and Private stared at the spot he vanished from.

Private was about to say something when Kowalski's head bobbed above the surface.

"I was right…" he gasped, "A hidden base…it's under here…come on!"

The other two wasted no time in joining Kowalski in the cool water. They saw a half hidden bubble shaped object on the bottom of the ocean. Kowalski's bandages soon loosened and floated towards the surface once they broke off. They noticed the lack of security as they swam nearer to it and were able to enter easily without confrontation.

"I don't like the looks of this." Kowalski whispered. "Maybe they've left him to die here."

"Maybe they're waiting to kill us." Private whimpered.

"What if this means Blowhole's army is smaller?" Rocky wondered, "There could be very little agents left."

"But just enough to kill you." A voice growled. "Well well, nice to see you again."

Kowalski growled harshly, "I'm not afraid of you anymore."

"That's not what your mother said." Nora said slyly.

"What?" Private said.

"Don't let her get to you." Rocky said, putting her flippers up. "Where's Skipper?"

"Where's Skipper?" Nora said in a mocking voice.

Private gasped, he'd left the crowbar on the beach. Kowalski was too angry to pay attention to Private.

There was a small clang from the outside.

"What was that?" Rocky asked.

"It doesn't matter, we're vacating this building and you are all dead." Nora said, walking outside. "What the-? Who are y-"

BANG! THUD! Nora was unconscious.

"I am too good."

"Oh no." Kowalski groaned.

"Hey guys!" The penguin said, coming into view and looking the other way. She was holding a crowbar and a walking stick.

"Rikki!" Kowalski said. "I told you to stay! How did you even get here?"

"Honestly, I have no idea." She answered.

"Did you hear that?" Private said. "Over there!" He ran to a locked door.

Kowalski took the crowbar from Rikki and guided her to where Private was.

"SKIPPER! ARE YOU IN THERE?!" Rocky screamed.

Kowalski edged the crowbar into a small space and pushed. He eventually managed to break the lock. Together, the penguins pushed the door in and found a dark room.

"Skipper?" Rocky said.

"Not quite." A black and white blur rushed at them. Rikki was the only one who didn't duck and was tackled to the ground by Koru who had a knife. "Who are YOU?" he cackled. "Should I kill you now?"

Kowalski slammed the crowbar into the insane penguin's side. Koru rolled off and jumped back up, ready to fight.

Private took Rikki into the next room and hid.

"Where's Blowhole?" Kowalski asked. "Is Skipper here?"

"BLOW UP THE BASE!" Koru screamed. He saw Nora groggily wake up. "Hey YOU! PUSH THE BUTTON!"

Nora muttered curses as she disappeared.

"Seriously, another self destruct button?" Kowalski asked.

"I LIKE BLOWIN' STUFF UP!" Koru said maniacally. "HEY, where'd your girlfriend go?!"

Kowalski turned to see Rocky chasing after Nora.

"AHAHAHAHA! She's going to DIE now."

Kowalski took the moment to throw the crowbar as hard as he could. It hit Koru's head with a deafening bang and he fell unconscious on the floor.

"Skipper!" Private gasped from the other room.

Private had opened a box to find Skipper curled up unconscious, but still breathing. He was bleeding and bruised. Kowalski rushed over to help him pull Skipper out.

SELF DESTRUCT IN ONE MINUTE…

"Good golly…" Kowalski groaned. "Private, get Rikki and Skipper out of here. Rikki, I'm going to have a talk with you later." He said seriously.

Private and Kowalski took Skipper to the exit and heaved him into the water. Private grabbed Skipper under the flippers and swam out with him. Rikki was on the other side, kicking her feet.

Rocky ran to Kowalski. "I made a new enemy." She stated proudly.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" Kowalski exploded. "WE WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF A BATTLE! YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!"

"I HAD TO GET REVENGE FOR WHAT SHE DID TO HIM! SHE KILLED JOHNNY!" Rocky retorted.

Kowalski sighed, "I know how you feel, I want to get revenge too, but now we have to take care of the others."

"Where-"

"Private took them to the surface. We have little time to get out of here."

TEN…NINE…EIGHT…

"Correction, no time! DIVE NO-AAGH!" His foot failed him and he fell to the ground. Rocky pulled him into the water.

FIVE…FOUR…

She began to swim ahead, but Kowalski couldn't kick with his injured foot. She went back for him.

TWO…ONE…HAVE A NICE DAY…

KABOOM!

Private had barely made it to the surface when he felt heat and saw a giant cloud below him. The three of them were lifted up by a big wave and thrown onto the beach.

Rikki felt the water on her feet and dragged Skipper as far as she could.

Private let the water wash over his feet while he watched anxiously.

Finally, Rocky appeared, gasping for breath. She held an unconscious Kowalski.

Private swam over to help her carry Kowalski to the land. He continued attempting to wake up Kowalski while Rocky ran over to her brother.

"Skippy?" She said. "Wake up."

"Kowalski…" Private shook his brother. "Kowalski, are you alright?"

Kowalski's eyes opened a little and he mumbled something groggily.

"I'll get help." Private said. He zipped through the woods, taking Rikki with him.

Rocky stroked Skipper's head. "Marlene's lucky to have such a great boyfriend." She said. "And Mom and I are so lucky to have you. Skipper, I don't want to lose you again…please don't die on me…"

Skipper's breathing became shallow.

"No, Skipper! Please! You're the leader, please don't go! Don't go…"

Kowalski's vision was blurry, but he saw Rocky and he flipped over on his stomach and crawled towards her.

"Rocky…" He gasped, "Help…"

"Private's gone to get help…please don't go…either of you…or Rico." Rocky said, tears falling down her face. "Skipper…Skipper wake up…" she shook him. "I'll move into the zoo with you, I'll never leave if you just wake up."

She looked up, Kowalski had fainted again.

It seemed to take Private forever to return.

Rocky stood up and pushed Kowalski onto his back. She tried to gather sand and put it under his injured foot to elevate it, though the sand was soaked from having wet penguins running through it.

She sat between them, stroking Skipper's head again.

Kowalski grunted, his face was scrunched up. Rocky figured that he might be having a bad dream.

She inhaled sharply and began to sing:

_I can almost see it__That dream I am dreaming__But there's a voice inside my head saying__"You'll never reach it"__  
><em>_Every step I'm taking__Every move I make feels__Lost with no direction__My faith is shaking__  
><em>_But I gotta keep trying__Gotta keep my head held high_

It was a song she had sung to Skipper when they were younger. She wasn't the best singer, but it had been good enough for her little brother.

___There's always gonna be another mountain__I'm always gonna wanna make it move__Always gonna be a uphill battle__Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose_

___Ain't about how fast I get there__Ain't about what's waiting on the other side__It's the climb__  
><em>_The struggles I'm facing__The chances I'm taking__Sometimes might knock me down__But no, I'm not breaking_

___I may not know it__But these are the moments that__I'm gonna remember most, yeah__Just gotta keep going_

She felt it was a good song to calm her nerves.

___And I, I got to be strong__Just keep pushing on__  
><em>_'Cause there's always gonna be another mountain__I'm always gonna wanna make it move__Always gonna be a uphill battle__Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose_

___Ain't about how fast I get there__Ain't about what's waiting on the other side__It's the climb, yeah!_

___There's always gonna be another mountain__I'm always gonna wanna make it move__Always gonna be an uphill battle__Somebody's gonna have to lose_

___Ain't about how fast I get there__Ain't about what's waiting on the other side__It's the climb, yeah!__  
><em>_Keep on moving, keep climbing__Keep the faith, baby__It's all about, it's all about the climb__Keep the faith, keep your faith, whoa_

Kowalski seemed calmer, but Skipper hadn't stirred. Rocky heard footsteps and Private's panting. He was followed by Sapphire Sorenson, Rex Blue, and Sarah Kent.

"I got through a nearly four minute song, where have you been?" She demanded.

"I'd like to know the same thing." Sapphire asked.

"Mom, hi!" Rocky said nervously. "How was your good night's sleep?"

"Roxanne Lorraine Sorenson, where have you been?"

"Well, if you look down, you'll see."

"Skipper!" She gasped, rushing over to her son. "Oh, Skipper."

Rex lifted Kowalski with a grunt and carried him back to the hut.

Sarah backed up to give Sapphire time with her kids. "Andre, come here."

Private walked somberly over. "Y-yes?"

"What you did was completely reckless and dangerous." She said.

"Yes ma'am, I know."

"You worried your mother to death."

"I know." Private said softly.

"But it was brave."

"I- what?"

"You were all very brave."

"I didn't mean for Rikki to come, I thought I could take this on my own."

"Byron thought he could tackle level seven on his first day in the base."

"Isn't that-"

"The most dangerous level for a beginner, yes it is." Sarah said, smiling. "But he tried…failed, but tried."

"LOOK!" he said suddenly. There was an unusual object floating on the surface of the ocean. "Hold this." She took off a sash she was wearing that had badges on it and thrust it into Private's flippers.

"Wait, I-"

But she was already in the water and swimming towards it. She grabbed it and swam to shore with it.

It was Nora.

"Still alive, but barely." Sarah said. "We'll hold her prisoner."

The penguins trooped back to the village. They had a cage leftover and put Nora in it.

After a while, the prisoner woke up, but didn't attempt an escape.

"You're bleeding." Sarah said as she tossed a piece of fish.

"Why didn't you kill me?" Nora asked sadly. "I killed your kid, didn't I? You should hate me; you should be driven mad with revenge."

Sarah's face was blank. "Yes, you did kill my son and though the thought had briefly crossed my mind, I am a General. I am above revenge killing. You have not killed anyone else. I believe it was out of fear."

"How do you know I wouldn't kill anyone? I tricked you into sending me to New York; I could be a criminal mastermind." The prisoner snapped. "I didn't torture Bone or Skipper. My job was to keep them inside, not insane, but why should you believe me…"

"I'm too smart to be fooled easily. It's true that I didn't see your true colors, but I saw some of the truth. I believe that you were driven mad by something, what is it? You always hid something bigger than being on the enemy's side, something that you didn't want anyone to find out."

"Every time I got hurt or cut, I bled." Nora said shakily, and then she stopped. "Why should I tell you?"

"Because you can't talk to Blowhole, can you?" Sarah asked. She noticed the other penguin make an odd movement. "Are you hurt?"

"AGH!" Nora yelled, running to the cage, putting her flipper out angrily. "SEE THIS?! I'M NOT NORMAL, I'M NOT REAL!" Her flipper was covered in something purple and wet; the same substance was on her side. "It's blood, my blood." She sat back down. "It's my blood…or that's what I call it…"

"I've spent my whole life trying to find out who I am."

"So you have feelings?"

"They wanted me to feel anger, but they couldn't stop me from feeling curiosity. I'd been raised in deceit and to be mindless servant. I wanted to be honest with the guys but…"

"What happened?"

"I was warned to carry on with the plan. I was going to tell Kowalski because I trusted him…and he was the one they wanted to get…but that lemur found me and…and almost exposed me…then I didn't think I could trust anyone. The penguin they killed to create me was an innocent baby…It hurt to know I wasn't a real penguin…I'm a freak science experiment."

"You know, it's not too late for remorse."

Nora made eye contact with Sarah. Her expression was genuinely filled with regret.

"General Kent, I am sorry that I killed your son. I know an apology doesn't help, they never do."

"On the contrary, they do. Granted, murders can't fade with an apology, but it shows that you are remorseful."

"Wrap seaweed on Kowalski's ankle, less painful than rough gauze." Nora said, looking away again. "Please leave me."

Sarah nodded and left towards the hut where Skipper and the others were.

Kowalski had scolded Rikki before Rocky ordered him to calm down. Private was helping take care of everyone else.

But the best news yet came a few minutes later…

Rico had woken from his coma.

**A/N: The Climb is not mine, it belongs to Miley Cyrus.**

**Just a friendly reminder that I have stated a disclaimer in my profile for all stories since I own nothing except OCs.**


	32. Psychological perspective

Rico was startled at first, but slowly came to the realization that he was in the safe village. He remembered it being colder, and then he saw his team and smiled.

"Oh Rico, I'm so glad you're okay!" Private said, giving him a hug.

"Rico, let's go bungee jumping." Rikki said.

Rico stared at her with a confused look, and then he turned to Skipper. His leader was bruised, burned, and was covered in bandages.

"We just found him." Private said excitedly. "Well, I wasn't supposed to, but I snuck out and found where they kept Skipper and it was actually Kowalski and Rocky who followed me. Then the three of us were in the base and then Rikki was there with the crowbar I left on the beach and-"

"Whoa!" Rico said, signaling for Private to stop. "Back."

"I said Kowalski and Rocky followed me-"

"Next."

"Er…it may have been possible…we had a tagalong…and it might…might have been…Rikki." Private winced.

"WHAT?!" Rico yelled, and then he started jabbering at top speed.

"But-"

"Ah!"

"I understand, bu-"

"Oh you do?" Rico muttered darkly.

"I'm sorry, it wasn't my fault!" Private said. "Well it was, but I didn't tell her to come."

Rico continued in his grunted speech.

"I know you're conc-"

Rico interrupted him with a scoff.

"Come on Rico, she helped out." Kowalski said. "If she hadn't come, we would have been toast."

"Sister blind." Rico said defiantly.

"Yes, but it wasn't-"

"Blind." Rico repeated.

"Whoa, are you saying I can't handle myself?" Rikki said angrily. "I've been fine for twenty years, but all of the sudden I'm a kid again? I'm not a kid; I'm tough enough to handle the real world."

"Nuh-uh."

"What do you mean by that?" Rikki demanded. "Rico, you're the most dangerous penguin in the room and have a psychotic love for dynamite and you're telling Private off for not keeping me safe? I'm older than him; I'm older than Skipper and older than you."

"Not point." Rico said.

"What do you mean? I can't believe my little brother is giving me a talk about being reckless, hello, have you MET yourselves? Your whole life has been reckless; all of you have been reckless. I do one thing reckless and I'm treated like a baby?!"

"Rikki, darling, it's nothing like that." Rex said. "Rico's just being a concerned brother, and as your father I'm concerned as well."

"Dad, I've been meditating and using my senses all the time. I've trained my feet to pick up vibrations, granted it's not always good, but my senses of smell and hearing are at least twice as strong as before." Rikki said, feeling her face grow hot.

"Still, you could have drowned. You didn't know where they were underwater." Rex said.

"Yeah." Rico said. "Careful."

"Yes I did." Rikki snapped, "I followed the scent, Kowalski's foot was still bleeding."

"What?" Rico said. "Nuh-uh, under water."

"I can smell it," Rikki scowled. "I've trained my beak to separate smells."

Rico still looked skeptical. Rex shook his head.

"I'm blind, if you're doing anything, I can't see."

"Exchanging looks of…er…" Private didn't want to say.

"Doubt?" Rikki said coldly. "I'm sure of it."

She heard the creak of the door opening.

"And I've had it." She said. "I DON'T WANT TO BE TREATED LIKE A BABY! WHY CAN'T YOU BE HAPPY THAT I HELPED? I DON'T WANT TO BE USELESS, I CAN BE HELPFUL IF YOU JUST LEAVE ME BE!"

She ran towards the breeze that was coming in, accidentally knocking into a soft object on the way out, and catching a whiff of seawater.

"Hi Sarah." Kowalski said. "What's the seaweed for?"

"I want to see if this feels good on your ankle." Sarah said, wrapping the slimy plant around his foot. "Is she going to be okay?" she asked, indicating the door in which Rikki stormed out.

"Yeah, I'll go talk to her." Rex said.

"No, me." Rico said.

"Neither of you." Rocky said. "This is a job for an older sister." She winked and ran outside to find Rikki.

"Wow, that girl can travel fast." Rocky remarked. "Rikki, where are you?"

Rocky scanned the surrounding area until she saw a moving object near the trees. It was a flipper, followed by a sniff. She found out that it was Rikki who had hidden behind the tree.

"Hi, Rocky." Rikki said.

"How-"

"I heard your voice."

Rocky smiled and sat down next to her. "You know, I'm a big sister myself and sometimes I find it annoying when my big brother is protective, but I love his loyalty."

"Don't get me wrong," Rikki said, "Rico and I are very close, but he and my dad can be overwhelmingly protective."

"What is it that you don't like?" Rocky asked.

"My dad and my brother think I'm a child who needs everything done for her, but I'm not." Rikki sighed. "You're not blind, you wouldn't understand."

"That's half true." Rocky said. "I may not be blind, but I can certainly relate to being treated like a kid. My dad and older brothers are dead and all my mom had left were the two of us. When Skipper left, she didn't want to let me go. I got into the Force after Skipper because my mom was too concerned about me, but I managed to show her that I'm independent."

Rikki rolled a rock in her flippers. "How come my dad and brother are different from your mom and brother?"

"Well, they're not really." Rocky said. "Rikki, you have to think from your dad's perspective. Your mom died and your dad thought that after all those years of raising you, he almost lost you both to a seal. And your brother, like mine, was separated from his sister for an extended amount of time."

"Why do we all have tragic pasts?" Rikki asked sadly.

"I don't know…maybe there's someone controlling our lives or something." Rocky said with a smile.

"Yeah, like all these things were invented for entertainment." Rikki laughed.

"That would be crazy."

"I'd go back and rewrite the story."

"I'd write my own story; Rocky: The rocky road of a military penguin, followed by Rocky: Magical adventures of the future, then ROCKY- the musical."

"I like musicals." Rikki giggled.

"Really?"

"Well, I can't really enjoy silent theatre." Rikki waved a hand in front of her face with a silly expression.

Rocky burst out laughing.

"South America's pretty nice." Rocky said. "A bit warm, but nice."

"Maybe your musical can be on Broadway." Rikki said.

Rocky laughed again. "You can star in it if you want. Nice plot twist, Rocky is actually blind so she fools everyone into thinking she's not."

"What do I look like?" Rikki asked. "I knew what I looked like as a baby…"

"A bit like Rico really," Rocky said, "just a little shorter and no Mohawk. But you two look like you could be twins. "

Rikki grinned. "Cool, do you look like Skipper?"

"Not really, I'm thinner and more round headed. I get that from my dad."

"I hear someone coming."

Rocky looked around. "Hi Rico!" she said. "I'll let you two chat."

"Hey." Rico said, sitting down next to Rikki.

She didn't respond.

"Sorry." Rico mumbled.

"Sorry for what?" Rikki said. "You shouldn't be sorry for caring about me."

"You mad...I no good penguin."

"You are a good penguin, trust me. I love you, but you have to understand that I'm not a child anymore. I know we haven't seen each other since we were eleven, but both of us have grown since then. Can you see me wanting more independence now?"

"Yeah…Love you, sis." Rico said.

"Love you too, bro." Rikki said. "You should know that Johnny Bone is dead."

"He's up!" Private said before Rico could respond. He was running towards them, "Skipper's awake!"

They followed Private back to the hut where Skipper's mom was trying to talk to him. Skipper was wide eyed and looked defeated. He was looking around everywhere as if he couldn't trust anyone. He had retreated into a corner and muttered about enemies and spies everywhere. He appeared to not recognize any of them.

"What do you suppose is wrong with him?" Private asked.

No one answered. Kowalski was asleep again so that ruled out his opinion.

In the next few hours, Skipper became steadily depressed. He refused to speak or look at anyone. He jumped every time he was touched or spoken to.

Once Kowalski had woken up, he was able to determine that Skipper had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and that he should be carefully monitored. Kowalski had come to the conclusion by asking Skipper questions. Skipper had answered a few, but then he yelled at Kowalski to leave him alone.

Later that night, Rico had been woken up by a strange feeling. He felt something missing from his gut and proceeded to regurgitate everything he had. In that process, he woke up the other penguins as well.

"What's missing?" Kowalski asked.

"Skipper's gone!" Rocky gasped before Rico could answer. Rico looked a little annoyed at being interrupted again.

Everyone spread out on a search for Skipper. Kowalski stayed inside because of his foot injury. He wracked his brain, trying to remember what Rico had packed. He was just getting to the weapons supply when he heard a loud gasp from the cupboard. He limped over and heard a groan of pain. He wrenched open the door and yelped.

Skipper was sitting there, his eyes red and a knife in his flipper. There were fresh cuts on his body.

Kowalski instinctively grabbed the knife, but Skipper tried to pull it back. The pain in his foot was coming back, but he didn't care at the moment.

"NO DON'T!" Skipper screamed.

"SKIPPER, STOP!" Kowalski yelled back. Terror shot through his body as he fought Skipper' strength.

"GIVE IT BACK!" Skipper howled.

"I'M SAVING YOUR LIFE!" Kowalski screamed, his tears splashed onto the ground. Both of them pulled with all their might. Skipper stood up and pulled the blade pointed towards him against Kowalski who was attempting to pull it away.

"YOU'RE RUINING MY PLAN!"

"IT'S A STUPID PLAN!"

"GIVE IT BACK!"

"NO!"

"GIVE IT!"

"THINK ABOUT YOUR MOTHER AND ROCKY. WHAT ABOUT MARLENE? SHE LOVES YOU, DON'T DO THIS!"

"Marlene?" Skipper said, he stopped fighting and let Kowalski throw the knife aside once his grip had loosened. "Rocky…mom…"

Kowalski panted. "Yes, Marlene. And what about your sister? Your mother? Do you really think they want to lose another child? I know your sister doesn't want to lose the only brother she has left"

Without warning, Skipper started crying. "N-no…" he said, trying to hide himself. The door burst open.

Kowalski was trying not to cry. "I can help you…trust me…trust us."

Sapphire ran to Skipper and stayed near him. Everyone else immediately started talking about what happened. Sarah offered a support group for those who were interested. She said that three other animals had signed up already.

Kowalski signed up as well. Skipper observed this and decided to join.

Private had joined after admitting that he'd had nightmares ever since Johnson died, and Rico went along to support his friends.

It was in a bigger leaf house near the forest and there was a giant water tank in there and they saw a familiar looking penguin there as well as an arctic fox and a snowy owl.

"Can I leave?" Skipper said once he spotted the penguin.

"No." Kowalski said sternly, pushing Skipper to a seat.

"Hello my friends, how are you today?" An old goat said. "I am your couns-"

"Friends?" Skipper said. "We don't even know you."

"That is because you didn't let me finish, young pupil."

Skipper glared at the goat and the penguin, but kept silent.

"Thank you." The goat said. "I am your counselor, my name is Billy."

Private stifled a snicker, "Billy goat…"

Billy smiled, "Yes, it's quite hilarious."

Private's smile slid off, he wasn't sure if he'd just been told off or not.

Billy laughed and bleated at the end. "So, tell me your names, where you're from and why you're here. Remember, we're all friends here."

No one spoke, they just stared at him.

"Shall I go first?" He asked. He received no response. "Okay, I'm Billy, I'm from Nigeria and I was brought here when I snuck on a cargo ship as a kid. I was allowed to join the Antarctic Force and my station has been here. Recently, I have retired from the action and am valued for my opinion which is why I'm sharing with you."

The snowy owl looked up. "My name is Henrietta." She said, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. "I'm from England and I was previously the pet of a small boy named Harvey. I…I had to leave and I joined this army. I was part of the air troops…oh how I miss my Harvey…" she shook her head and her amber eyes filled with tears.

The arctic fox was next, "I'm Jared, and I'm from here. Actually Peru, but I was a rescue from an illegal animal trade and wound up fighting battles here. I saw my best friend blown-"

"Could you not finish that?" Henrietta interrupted.

"Sorry." Jared said.

"Who's next?"

"I'm Dennis Manfredi." The penguin said. Private's eyes snapped to him, Rico and Kowalski gasped and Skipper looked murderous. "I'm from Antarctica, and I'm here because…" he glanced at his former leader. "I broke away from my team and it ended up with my best friend dead and me in a world of confusion…I'm also here because I'm the world's biggest jerk."

Skipper looked genuinely confused.

"I'm Private." The smallest penguin chirped. "I'm from England, then I moved to New York. I'm here to support my friends and to get over my own nightmares as well."

Kowalski gave a small smile. "I'm Kowalski and I'm from…New York…and I'm here because what I've seen cannot be unseen."

"Ah, and you?" Billy asked Rico.

"Uh…Rico."

"So, where are you from?"

"NEW YOOOOOOORK!" He belted out in a deep singing voice. Jared, Private and the other penguin chuckled lightly.

"Ahaha, I see, and why are you here?"

"Team." He looked around at his friends.

Billy smiled, and then turned to Skipper. "And what about you, my friend?"

Skipper shook his head.

"Go on Skipper, we've said what we did." Kowalski said.

"Yeah," Henrietta said, "I've been torn all this time without my Harvey. He's a wonderful human with the kindest heart. It tore me to be separated from him, and knowing I can never come back hurts even more."

"Why can't you go back?" Skipper asked, his was voice hoarse.

"It's complicated…he thinks I'm dead and if I come back…well, he's moved on by now." She said.

"When did you leave him?"

"Back in '97"

Skipper drew a deep breath. "P.J Sorenson, but call me Skipper. I'm from New York, originally Antarctica, and I'm here…for classified reasons. I know how separated love feels, and I don't like it here. I want to be back with my team and my Marlene."

"Do you like this Marlene?" Billy asked with a rather knowing look in his eyes.

"More like I love her." He said. "She doesn't know I'm still alive…but she wouldn't want me now…"

"Why not?"

"Because I'm truly psychotic and overly paranoid…"

Not much was said after this statement, nothing Billy could get out of the penguin at least.

The next few meetings were quiet on Skipper's part. Everyone else came out into the open and decided that with encouragement from friends and a dose of advice, they would eventually be alright.

Jared and Manfredi left the meetings after a week. Manfredi had attempted an apology, but Skipper merely snapped at him to leave his team alone.

Kowalski was forbidden to attend after the third meeting as he needed to rest his foot.

After a week and a half of meetings, Henrietta was to fly to a colony of owls in Iceland so she could take her mind off of things and talk to others when needed.

Rico didn't seem disturbed, but still went to support Skipper and Private.

Central Park Zoo had finally sent out a search for their four missing penguins, but no luck came to them. Marlene had contacted them, but Skipper was too distressed to speak to her.

Skipper had grown steadily better, he was less violent and he seemed to be more trusting. He was still experiencing painful flashbacks and refused to say what happened when he was captured.

"I broke down…" He said one meeting, "A leader's supposed to be strong, but I broke…I cried like a child…that wasn't supposed to happen."

"Did you know this could happen to anyone?" Billy said. "Grown men just like you can cry too. Even authority figures like General Kent cry, it's nothing to be ashamed of. On the contrary, it shows that you're human, or in your case, penguin. You have a heart and you don't shut others out."

"I'm shutting you out right now." Skipper said, looking down at his flippers. "I haven't said much."

"Maybe you were afraid of a group setting." Billy said. "Would you like to be alone with me right now?"

Skipper looked at his teammates. "I just want Rico here, sorry Private."

Private smiled. "Skipper, I'd be honored to help in any way I can." He went to talk to Jared who shared similar experiences with him.

Skipper waited until he was sure that Private had left before starting his story. Rico promised not to interrupt.

"I was physically abused and tortured." Skipper said. "They had me chained to a table…and they had a laser pointed to me and sometimes they would hit me…" he pointed to a barely noticeable burn mark on his side. "They wanted information from me…it was about the secrets of the base and Kowalski's new invention. It's dangerous…I refused to give them an answer. Johnny was tortured as well, but then he was too insane to say anything…knives hurt…I didn't want to think about the pain…"

"What about the other things?"

"They kept making me look at horrible scenes of destruction…they said they'd destroy us…they'd take out the innocent zoo animals…They made me watch while they hurt Johnny…and then I was next. They beat me too…with…hard things and…"

"You have another burn, it doesn't look good."

Skipper looked on his other side; he'd refused any medical attention until a few days previously. "It's an acid burn."

"Acid?" Billy asked.

Rico looked concerned, but said nothing.

"They had it in a test tube and when I didn't cooperate, they spilled it on me….and…they tried to starve me…and they made me throw up…I haven't eaten much…I don't feel hungry…I feel…I don't know…why do you need to know all this?"

"I need to see how much I have to help you. How do you feel about Antarctica now?"

"I don't know." Skipper mumbled, looking down. "It was home, but now it's…it's a dark hole…I didn't get to apologize to Johnson...we were both stupid and I should have said something…"

"You feel guilt and that's perfectly normal-"

"No, you don't understand! This is all my fault, if I didn't come up with that stupid plan then we'd be home now and none of this would have happened."

"Rico, do you think it's Skipper's fault?" Billy asked.

"No." Rico said, shaking his head.

Skipper felt a spark of happiness at his teammate's answer.

"I'm afraid time's up for today, but you can come back tomorrow if you want." Billy said, closing his notepad.

Skipper nodded, staring at the ground. Rico guided him outside. "Bye!" he rasped.

The two of them took in the fresh air; it was a bit colder than in recent days. Skipper had completely lost track of the days and wondered if they missed Maya's birthday. He knew that he had definitely missed Julien's wedding now that he thought about it.

He approached Kowalski with this. "Yeah, Julien said that with all the commotion they canceled a wedding party. Julien just said he named her his queen and that was technically married, so they're happy."

"Kowalski, what day is it?" Skipper asked.

"Exactly four months since we departed the zoo…December 18th."

"Four months?!"

"Yup."

Skipper scratched his head. "I want you to return to the zoo." He said. "Your foot's doing so much better now. You three need to go back."

"Without you?" Private asked. He didn't bother telling them he heard the conversation. Rico came as well.

"Without me." Skipper confirmed. "Maybe Rocky and Rikki can go."

"I'm not leaving you, bro." Rocky said.

"I want to go to New York!" Rikki said happily, looking to the right of Private.

"I don't want to leave you here." Private said.

"But you'll miss the Lunacorns. And you'll be there for Christmas." Skipper said.

"Can you go after Christmas?" Candace asked. "I couldn't help but hearing, but I want to spend time with my sons."

"Let's go on New Year's eve." Kowalski said. "We can party our troubles away." He grinned.

"Because we know Julien will throw a big party." Private said.

"How about we all go to Central Park?" Sapphire said.

"Really, mom?" Rocky asked.

"Yeah, if you want to!" Rex said, grinning wider than Kowalski.

"PARTY!" Rico and Rikki shouted. They started dancing randomly.

Everyone was chatting excitedly about going to Central Park and even Sarah said it sounded like a good idea. The zoo wasn't quite ready to open yet so that would give the families enough time with each other.

Sarah revealed that she communicated with Alice through computer and that no one she emailed knew she wasn't human.

She told Alice that she had found the missing penguins and would return them to their zoo in a few days. She also mentioned that she had families of the penguins and that they would visit briefly.

Alice was okay with this and sent a confirmation email.

Skipper had receded into the background during the majority of the conversation and eventually snuck outside.

He took a deep breath and walked around, not knowing what he was looking for. He managed to find where Nora was being held.

She was skinnier and paler. She hadn't refused medical help, but she barely wanted to eat. Looking up, she found Skipper and raised an eyebrow.

"You are the last person I'd expect to see here." She stated. "What do you want?"

"I want to know what you told Sarah." Skipper said with a blank expression.

"Why do you care?"

"Because you tricked me and that does not wash. I also want to know why you didn't hurt me. You didn't attack me at the zoo and you didn't hurt me or Johnny. Why not?"

"Let me answer that with a question, why didn't you kill me? You had a chance at the zoo, but instead you wanted to keep me captive in your base."

Skipper didn't have an answer.

Nora sighed, "I told Kent that I'm not a real penguin. My blood is purple, I'm a science experiment programmed to do the bidding of my master. But my programming is off, it started when I met Tammy and Charlie. Their personalities were…different…Charlie's pain was so real and Tammy's high pitched craziness messed with my original programming. It kept going when I met Private, he was so kind and I hated to hurt him. I realized that I couldn't continue my mission…until I was threatened…I had no choice…I wanted to tell you but…you would have…not accepted me…no one would…"

"Kowalski made a gelatin-like block and named it Jiggles. It was alive and nearly destroyed the zoo." Skipper said. "One slightly mad scientist's inventions are understandable, and so is this."

"I want to be left alone." Nora said.

"Does being mad last forever?" Skipper asked. "I think I'm going insane."

"Why are you telling me this? I don't care!" Nora snapped, retreating farther from him.

"But you feel the same way, right? Your world's falling apart and you don't know what-"

"GET OUT!"

Skipper jumped, "Bye." He said, walking back outside.

_Why do I feel like a child? _Skipper asked himself. _I haven't even told them how I feel…I feel defenseless…I remember everyone and myself…but I don't remember my personality…do I? I think I got weaker and now I don't know if I can be myself again. The zoo can be fine without me; I'll just be a bother. Is this self pity? It sure feels like it. What if they don't accept me? I don't want everyone to baby me…but at the same time…I do…_

"Skipper, there you are!" Private said, running to his leader. "We're going back to the zoo tomorrow! We'll have a lot of time with our families again!"

Skipper nodded and absentmindedly followed the younger penguin back to the house. The sky was a gold-red color and made Skipper think of hotdogs. Private laughed when he heard this.

"I suppose," The younger one said, "we can say that the sky is the meat."

"Blue meat?" Skipper asked.

Private laughed harder, "Y-yeah!" he gasped between breaths, "Ha-ha, there's…there's not enough blue foods!"

"If I could make a Lunacorn come to li-"

"Skipper!" Private scolded, trying not to smile.

The next morning was ripe with anticipation as Sarah got them a helicopter to fly to the zoo. Everyone had huge smiles on their faces; it was hard to tell that anyone was still traumatized by recent events. Kowalski had caused Rico to take a nap right away because the scientist rattled on about what he was going to invent when he got back.

Private was explaining Lunacorns to his mom and Rocky was chatting with Rikki. Rex had woken Rico and helped with whatever they needed packed.

"I'm not going."

Everyone fell silent and looked at Skipper.

**A/N: BA-BAM! I like ****bending**** the fourth wall ;) **

**Also, tell me if you get the reference to two things that do not belong to me, one is easier to get, but the other is a bit tough. Hint: It is NOT Billy goat, but it's…complicated... (That was a hint too, by the way) First reference in the earlier part of this chapter and second reference in the first half towards the middle. Virtual party for those who get one or both of the references.**

**Sorry if you don't like your fave characters being tortured. I love them too, don't worry, I will reward them. First torture, and then be nice to them.**

**Hope you continue to enjoy the story and read and review.**

**Read and…Review?**

**Yes, you may put yourself as a guest if you want.**

**Gee that sounds like a good idea, I'll do it!**

**Cool beans!**


	33. Home at last

"What do you mean?" Sapphire asked, shocked at her son's comment. Everyone wore and expression of concern.

"I'm not going." Skipper repeated.

"Why on earth would you say that?" Candace asked.

"I'll just ruin Christmas." Skipper said, staring down at the ground. "My current condition would be…it wouldn't be good for partying. I'll stay here until I get better and-"

There was an overlap of chatter that interrupted him. The protests were coming from Kowalski, Rico, Private, Rocky, and Rikki.

"Guys." Skipper said.

"Honestly Skipper-"

"Why?"

"Christmas is a time for family."

"I'm not leaving you again."

"Come on!"

The chattering got louder and Skipper found that he couldn't hear himself think.

"Guys!" He shouted, "Would you- I just- QUIET!"

Rocky let out a stream of curses while Kowalski covered Private's ear holes.

"Are you quite finished?" Kowalski asked.

Rocky crossed her flippers and huffed angrily.

"We're leaving soon." Sarah informed them. "Otherwise heavy snowfall will prevent us from reaching our destination."

The others nodded and turned their attention back to Skipper.

Skipper explained that he didn't think he could be a leader again and that he didn't think he would be able to face Marlene.

"She misses you." Kowalski said. "She told me she wouldn't be happy until she saw you again. This could be your big chance to finally get together with her."

Skipper opened his beak to retort.

"AND Christmas is about spending time with the ones you love." Kowalski interrupted.

"We love you." Private said.

"In a brotherly way." Kowalski added.

"That's what I meant." Private said.

"Guys…" Skipper sighed.

"Hey, change of plans." Sarah said. "Phoenix is taking you to New York."

"Who is he?" Private asked.

"You'll see."

The penguins boarded the helicopter to find a penguin sitting in the front seat, smiling at them. The penguin had light brown eyes that looked like it had a bit of dark green.

"Hi, I'm Phoenix."

"Hey, I'm Kowalski."

"Yeah, I know who you are." The penguin said, turning around.

"Why are the tips of your head feathers red?" Kowalski asked.

"Because they are." Phoenix said as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Don't ask the guy questions." Rikki said. "Boys don't tell you anything."

"Yeah, boys don't say anything." Phoenix said.

"And you'd know that, wouldn't you?" Skipper asked. "Have I seen you before?"

"Maybe."

Rocky had a huge grin on her face, but refused to tell anyone why.

Snow was lightly falling as they traveled north. They were almost in New York.

"I'm so happy they let me fly this thing." Phoenix said.

"Wait, this is your first time flying?" Candace asked, "But you're so young, why do they let you fly?"

Phoenix twitched, "I'm not that young, and I am perfectly able to fly."

"Mum, leave him be." Private said. "Look, we're landing!"

Phoenix landed the helicopter right next to the penguin habitat.

"How do I do it?" the penguin said with a slightly higher voice.

"Dude, what happened to your voice?" Rikki asked.

Rocky burst out laughing.

"What?" Skipper asked. "It's not like he's a girl."

Phoenix grinned.

"You're a girl?!" Everyone except Rocky exclaimed.

"Is that so hard to believe?" Phoenix asked.

"Yes, little girls don't fly helicopters." Skipper said.

Her face suddenly turned to fury. "Little girl? I know you didn't just call me that."

"Ah, but I did."

"Ah, but you're DEAD!" She jumped on Skipper and attempted to hit him repeatedly.

"Phoenix, stop!" Rocky said. "You know he didn't mean it, and what would Beto think?"

Phoenix huffed. "You're lucky; don't expect it to happen again."

"Who's Beto?" Private asked.

"My puppy." She answered with a huge grin. "Got to go now, see ya!"

She hopped in the helicopter and left.

"Her puppy?" Candace asked.

"Long story, you'll have to ask Abby." Rocky said.

"Who?"

"Never mind, let's go!"

The boys led the others into their HQ. Skipper's mom smiled as she looked around at everything. Rico showed his dad the weapons supply while Rikki sat down and discovered a peanut butter winky. Candace watched Private as he showed her his Lunacorn. Rocky was still laughing while her brother and Kowalski flopped down in their bunks.

Kowalski had a gut feeling that he was supposed to remember something. He looked around and saw a bed on the other side of the room. He thought it was odd, a bed-

"Mikayla!" He gasped, "She must be wondering where we are."

"I'll tell her, I got to find Marlene anyway." Skipper said.

"I'll go with you." Rocky said. "Unless you think I'm a little girl, I'll take a leaf from Phoenix's book."

"What leaf?" Skipper asked, climbing the ladder.

"It's an expression; it means if you call me a little girl, I'll do what Phoenix did to you."

"You'd beat up your own brother?"

Rocky stuck her tongue out at him. Skipper rolled his eyes.

"Real mature." He said.

"Real mature." Rocky mimicked.

"Stop that."

"Stop that."

"Rocky."

"Rocky."

The two of them glared at each other until a loud blare of music interrupted them.

"I am de party king!" Julien shouted.

Skipper pressed his flippers to his head. "Come on, Ringtail! I haven't even been here ten minutes and you're already giving me a headache!"

"Aw, come on, it's catchy." Rocky clapped and began doing an odd dance.

"If you're going to dance, at least do it right."

"Skipper?" A female voice said.

"Hey, Mikayla, you can get back in the HQ now."

"Thanks." Mikayla said. "Welcome back."

"I'm Rocky." Rocky said.

Mikayla waved and headed down.

"Is it really being you?" Julien squealed. "You must come dance with me!"

"Yea- NO!" Skipper shouted, walking towards Marlene's habitat.

"Oh Miss Rocky, won't you please come say hello?" Julien said.

"Why?" Rocky asked suspiciously.

"Maya loves her favorite penguin."

"Maya barely knows me."

"You're my favorite penguin."

Rocky rolled her eyes. "If I come say hello to everyone, will you leave me alone?"

"Yes, he will." Josie said. "Then we can go visit the penguins."

Rocky sighed and headed to the lemurs habitat.

Skipper shrugged and hopped over the wall of Marlene's habitat.

He inhaled deeply as he approached the cave.

"Oh my goodness, you're hilarious." Her voice rang out.

Skipper thought this was odd, he approached the cave.

"Seriously, it happened." A male voice replied, making Skipper stop.

"And all this time, I had no idea-"

"I know, right?"

"I feel bad for him."

"Eh, he gets over things pretty easily."

Skipper was confused, he wanted to say something, but fear prevented him from going. He didn't know why he felt fear, he was a fearless leader, but he felt different.

"Do you think we should say something? Or at least tell him about it?" The male replied.

"Nah, let's keep it between us for now." Marlene said.

Skipper shook his head; he backed up and nearly fell into the water. He ran out of the habitat as quickly and silently as he could. He didn't know where he was going until he smacked into a lamppost.

"Skipper!" Rocky gasped, running over to her brother. "Are you alright, that was quite the crash- What's wrong?"

"She likes someone else."

"What?" Rocky said. "Are you talking about Marlene?"

"Yes." Skipper mumbled, rubbing his head. "I heard her talking to him. I don't know who he is, but they're having a great conversation."

"I'm sorry, honestly." Rocky said. "I'll make you cookies."

"I'm not five, cookies won't help." Skipper snapped. "I'm going for a walk…alone."

Rocky watched him leave. "Well, that was odd."

A loud splash told her that a penguin just exited the HQ.

She looked over to see Rikki floating there with an expression of surprise.

"How did you manage that?" Rocky asked.

"No idea." Rikki said. "I got bored and found the ladder. Am I in the ocean?"

"Does it taste like ocean?"

Rikki disappeared underwater and came back a second later. "Nope, it tastes like aged fish with a hint of old butt sweat."

Rocky made a face, "Gross." She said as she went to help Rikki up. "What's up?"

"I'm so BORED." Rikki said. "Where's the music that was playing earlier?"

"Over there." Rocky said, directing Rikki's head. "And it's not as bad as Skipper says, come on." She helped Rikki over to the lemurs habitat as the other penguins started coming out.

"Hello again." Julien said. "HAPPY JULIANUARY!"

"Julie-whosie-whatsit?" Rocky asked.

"Be giving to me the presents…eh, what's wrong with you?" He asked Rikki.

"Nothing, why?"

"You are looking over there when I, your king, am right here."

"Shut it about the king stuff." Nat's voice came from below. She looked like she was just waking up. "And I don't want to hear- Rocky?" She said. "Does that mean Kowalski's back?"

Rocky nodded and Nat zoomed away as fast as she could.

"She seems excited." Rikki said. "I could tell by the wind she left behind."

"Nat!" Kowalski shouted.

Nat tackled him to the ground. "Never leave again; being stuck with HIM was torture!"

"Alright, I'm sorry." Kowalski groaned.

Nat greeted the rest of the penguins and then looked at Kowalski excitedly.

"You won't believe what happened." Nat said.

"I already know." Skipper's hoarse whisper came from behind.

"Skipper, there you are!" Kowalski said.

"Yeah, and I'm not talking to Marlene."

"Why not?"

"SKIPPER!" Marlene squealed, having just spotted him. She barreled over the wall and hopped the fence. "I can't believe it, you guys are back! Wait until you meet- oh, I just can't hold my excitement. Skipper, I have to tell you something-"

"No need." Skipper said in an unnaturally high voice. "I heard you already."

"Aww, did I spoil the surprise?"

Skipper glared furiously, "I thought you would wait." He said, cursing himself internally for the tears in his eyes. "I thought you cared about me!"

"What are you-?"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" he screamed, running into the habitat.

Marlene bit her lip.

"What was that about?" Private asked.

"He thinks you dumped him." Rocky said.

"What? Dumped him? Why would I ever-"

"He heard you talking to someone else in your habitat."

"You're in love with someone else?" Private asked in a hurt voice.

"Ooo…" Rico said.

"Does that mean you don't love him anymore?" Private asked.

"What's going on?" Kowalski asked. "Who's that?" he said, spotting a male otter peeking over the wall.

**A/N: I tried to leave it less awkwardly…oh well, cliffhanger...I think.**

**I know Skipper is acting out of character, but this is part of my plan…don't ask what that is. Remember, I torture characters first, then make them happy. **

**Phoenix does not belong to me; she belongs to the lovely abby-sanban on Deviantart.**

**The references from last chapter were:**

**Rikki can sense vibrations in the ground like Toph from Avatar the last Airbender.**

**WARNING: THE FOLLOWING MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FROM HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, IF YOU HAVE NOT READ, THEN DO NOT READ BEYOND THIS POINT. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED, I WILL DENY ANY SPOILING.**

**The second is a Harry Potter reference from book seven. MAKES MORE SENSE IF YOU'VE READ THE BOOK AND ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE SCENE. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS , DON'T LOOK AT THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE. **Henrietta is based on Hedwig and Harvey is based on Harry and her experience is sort of based on a scene.


	34. A happy-awkward holiday

"What surprise, Marlene?" Private asked.

"That was the surprise." Marlene answered faintly, pointing at the other otter.

The other otter came up to them with a wide grin on his face. He looked around at everyone, but no one looked happy; on the contrary, they looked like they had just seen a ghost.

What just happened? That was the question in everyone's minds at the moment.

"Skipper heard you talking to him." Rocky said. "He said he'd heard enough to know what was going on."

Marlene laughed nervously, "That's a little embarrassing, did he tell you?"

"Yes."

"Oh boy, do you mind keeping it to yourselves?"

"No, you kind of just…you do realize that everyone is here, right?"

"This is awkward." Nat said. "Who wants to make a mud pie?"

"Not now." Kowalski hissed. "Marlene, we already know what's going on, all of us."

"You know what we said?" Marlene asked.

"We caught the gist of it."

"I'm sorry, Kowalski."

"I- what?" Kowalski's skeptic look turned to confusion. "Why are you apologizing to me?"

"Izzy was telling me about how you got your head stuck in a bird's nest and-"

"WHOA!" Kowalski said, turning beet red. "Y-you know about that?" he chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, and- oh…ohh…that's not what Skipper meant, was it?" Marlene said.

"No." Kowalski squeaked.

"I'm confused." Private said.

"I thought it was obvious." Nat said. "Skippy heard a small part of their conversation, misinterpreted it and now everyone knows something embarrassing about Kowalski."

"I have to talk to him."

She rushed down into the HQ and found Skipper in his bunk.

"Hey, how's your day?" Marlene asked.

Skipper gave her a funny look.

"Want to hear a funny story?" Marlene said.

Skipper didn't respond, he simply turned away from here

"M'kay, so once upon a time there was a penguin named Kowalski. He was smart and hated to be tricked. One day, little Kowalski decided to try out juggling. He found three white objects and began to juggle them. Then a bird started attacking him. He dropped an egg, but it didn't smash. He then tried to put them back in the nest and while he did that, he fell into the nest while the three eggs were in his mouth. He tried to free himself while the bird kept attacking him. Then he fell on a branch and the eggs fell out. He grabbed them as fast as he could while he was falling to the ground. The bird was still attacking him even when he set the eggs down. He tried getting the nest off his head and ended up blundering around and fell on the eggs-"

"How is this funny?"

"I'm almost there. Then Kowalski realized that he was lucky enough to not have smashed them. Then he offered to sit on the eggs until they hatched. The bird was still angry with him, so he took her silence as a yes. Then Kowalski felt a very painful peck on his foot and realized that the eggs were hatching. The baby birds called him 'mama' and then the mother bird attacked Kowalski again and the penguin ran over his sleeping squirrel friend and fell into the river while the mother bird took her babies away. Then she came back and pecked him so hard he was dizzy for five hours."

Skipper tried not to smile, but it was hard.

"And while I was listening to this story I thought, 'I had no idea Kowalski was so hilarious', 'I feel bad for him' and 'should we tell him that we know?'"

Skipper looked like he'd been clubbed in the head.

"Aw ham steak, I blew it." He groaned. "This is so not like me. I think my body's been taken over by a wimp."

"You just need to find yourself again."

"Find myself?"

Marlene opened her mouth but was interrupted by a cry of excitement.

They ran up top to find Kowalski and the otter hugging.

Skipper looked at Marlene, "So that's-"

"Yup, it's Izzy."

Rocky and the parents were confused.

"Remember when I said my friends were taken away from me. This is Izzy the otter, Nat and I separated while looking for him." Kowalski said.

"I'm so glad you found him!" Private squealed gleefully.

"We should celebrate this." Nat said.

"Whoo!" Rico cheered.

Skipper and Kowalski called a meeting at the zoovenir shop and everyone was gathered an hour later."

"Aww, so cute!" Candace said, reaching down to pat Barry's head.

"NO!" The boys shouted.

Candace whipped her flipper away. "What's the matter?"

"Ma'am, I'm a poison dart frog." Barry said.

"He may be friendly, but he can still stun you." Kowalski said.

First, the parents, Rocky, and Rikki were introduced to everyone, much to Rikki's annoyance as she was being poked by Julien.

"I'm blind, not a potato sack, STOP TOUCHING ME!" Rikki snapped.

Rico growled at Julien and muttered threateningly.

Then Izzy was introduced as an old friend of Nat and Kowalski, and that Skipper and Marlene were dating now. Skipper blushed when Private said this.

Kowalski had told Marlene that Skipper might be sensitive because of everything he had been through.

Skipper was experiencing severe mood swings as he'd be happy one moment and the next, he'd want to be alone. Kowalski didn't want to leave Skipper alone when he was depressed because he was afraid of what would happen.

He set up a schedule so that Skipper was always in sight of somebody. Everyone except one penguin was happy about this.

"I'm not a kid, no need to put me on that schedule. And what if I need to go to the bathroom? You're not following me in there." Skipper had complained the following morning.

"Of course not, I'll need to make some adjustments so you don't feel overprotected." He went into the lab to look over the schedule he'd drawn up.

Skipper grumbled and went to visit Marlene. He still hadn't been able to tell her what happened in Antarctica, but she understood that he didn't feel like sharing yet.

Private was helping his mother decorate the HQ for Christmas and the other penguins joined in.

Mikayla wandered around with some wall art until she found Kowalski's lab. She smiled and began putting up snowmen and Christmas trees.

"What are you doing?" Kowalski asked, causing her to jump.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were in here." Mikayla said, "Merry Christmas."

"Not quite."

"In four days it'll be here." Mikayla said. "Cheer up."

"Please leave my lab and take the decorations with you." Kowalski said.

"Aww, at least let the snowman stay." Mikayla said. "Bring you joy and laughter and-"

"I asked nicely." He said, approaching her.

"Well, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bunk this morning."

Kowalski glared at her.

"Fine." Mikayla sighed, taking down the tree and the snowman.

She waited until he turned around before sticking the snowman back on and exiting the room.

For the next few days leading to Christmas, the zoo was decorated by the animals and everyone was getting into the holiday spirit. Well, everyone except Skipper and Kowalski.

Private still had nightmares about the battle in Antarctica, but his mother made him feel better and he was slowly getting better at controlling his paranoia again.

It was hard to tell if Rico was suffering nightmares because he didn't express any concern or show signs of depression. He seemed the most relaxed of the four boys and was perfectly content.

Kowalski spent most of the time in his lab and away from the parties that Julien insisted on having. He had taken down the snowman and whatever decoration that found its way into his lab. He hadn't told the others, but he was still suffering from horrible flashbacks that snuck up on him randomly as well as haunting nightmares. His foot was still sore, but he was able to put some weight on it. He was still scared that Skipper would try to hurt himself again which is why he made the schedule.

Skipper was still upset that he could have prevented Byron Kent and Johnny Bone's deaths. He was devastated to hear that his mentor had died. Skipper had hoped that Johnny made it out alive, which was what happened, but it transpired he had a delayed death. As well as dwelling on this, he had frequent flashbacks and worse nightmares than Kowalski. He barely wanted to sleep, but was ordered to by his mother.

Skipper had grown frustrated at the schedule, broke it and tossed it into the waters in their habitat. A grumbling Kowalski retrieved the soaked board after ten minutes of protests from his leader.

Christmas Eve came and the entire HQ was decorated. Kowalski had finally succumbed to the pleading of others to decorate his lab. There were wall decorations everywhere and someone had drawn stockings on his clipboard.

That night, many presents were under the tree and Rico was excited because he knew what Kowalski got him, but was going to pretend to be excited in the morning.

Private and Kowalski told the newer animals about Kidsmas and they agreed to help. Since Skipper was unavailable, Rex got to be Santa Claus.

Josie was excited because it was to be Maya's first Christmas. The only reason they hadn't visited was because Maya was very fast now and they could hardly keep up with her.

Skipper agreed to let his team go to the party that Julien was hosting on Christmas night. He didn't want to go.

Rocky and Rikki were singing carols loudly and as often as they could. Rocky's shaky voice was barely better than Rikki's. Both of them were not the best singers, but they could do Christmas carols.

Candace and Private baked cookies and distributed them to the zoo animals. Mort threw up after he consumed ten cookies.

Rico helped Izzy and Nat build snowmen for the kids.

Maya had managed to sneak away again and was found in the snow, shivering and whining. Apparently, Mort had decided to bury her in the snow and refused to answer any of Josie's questions.

As the evening wore on, the animals retreated into the warmest parts of their habitats to sleep for the night.

Private had fallen asleep next to the cookies and Rico was yawing so much. Rex persuaded his son to go to sleep while Sapphire and Candace lifted Private to bed. Rikki had fallen asleep a while ago and Rocky was looking at a picture book in bed. Skipper was in the bathroom.

Mikayla helped Sapphire clean up while Candace and Rex went to bed.

"Hey, is Kowalski still up?" Mikayla asked, eyeing the open lab.

"Yeah, why don't you go check on him?" Sapphire said.

Mikayla nodded and entered the lab.

"Kowalski?" She whispered, closing the lab door behind her. "Hello? Mrs. Sorenson was wondering if you were still up...Kowalski, are you there?"

She wandered further into the lab to find Kowalski sitting at a desk, mumbling to himself.

"Carry the two and…makes…tired…must calculate…probability...o-of…" he yawned and put his head on his desk. "Just a few…more numbers…"

"Or bed, that sounds good to me." Mikayla said.

Kowalski whipped around with wide eyes. "What are you doing here?" He asked suddenly, putting his flippers up in self defense.

"I came to tell you to go to bed."

"And what made you think you could enter my lab without permission?"

"Well, you're tired and Mrs. Sorenson was sure that you were in here."

"Get out of my lab."

"Only if you do."

Kowalski growled.

Mikayla was frightened, but tried not to show it. "It's Christmas Eve, cheer up."

"You should know that entering someone's private territory without permission is trespassing." He said, moving closer and gesturing to the door.

"Yeah, but what if that someone is an overtired penguin who needs sleep before Christmas tomorrow?" She said, backing up.

"I will go to bed on my own schedule; you don't need to worry abou- WATCH OUT!"

She had backed into a table of test tubes and jumped forward. The tubes of colored liquid smashed on the floor.

"I am so sor-Nyehh!" she had found Kowalski's furious face inches from hers. "I-"

"Out."

Mikayla scrambled to the door, taking care to avoid the glass. She slipped out the door and ran to the bathroom, only to collide with Skipper on the way.

"Ow." She groaned, picking herself up off the floor.

"You might want to be careful." Skipper said, offering her a flipper.

"Sorry, I just had a fight or flight response."

"You were going to fight with your bladder?"

"No, Kowalski."

"Kowalski's bladder?"

"Noooo…with all of Kowalski."

"Oh, what happened?"

"Your mom told me to check on Kowalski because he was still up, so I went in and he didn't answer when I called him. Then I found him dozing off and when he heard me, he acted freaked out and tried to scare me away. I accidentally backed away and knocked over some tubes and he was furious. He just gave me a glare and…I ran."

"You're pink. You didn't run that fast so, why are you flushed?"

"Am I?" She asked, feeling her face. "Well, I felt a little hot."

Skipper put a flipper on Mikayla's head and face. "You don't look like you have a fever; maybe you were nervous or scared. Just go to bed and see how you feel in the morning."

"Okay." Mikayla said, heading off to her bed.

Kowalski had exited his lab when almost everyone was asleep and he climbed up to his bunk.

"Kowalski."

He jumped and saw Skipper's dark figure waving to him.

"What?" Kowalski said.

"Why did you scare Mikayla? She was only trying to make sure you were alright." Skipper whispered back.

"I'm sorry; I guess I was really tired."

"Apologize to her in the morning, just try to stay calm."

"You too."

"Alright."

Skipper felt like he was awake for hours, he had heard Kowalski's snores a while later, but couldn't fall asleep himself.

He smelled something burning, there were several explosions…but why wasn't he responding? He didn't know…

A loud rushing noise…

Darkness…

He couldn't see.

He couldn't scream.

He did scream…internally.

Falling further into the darkness…

Ruined…

Tainted…

He heard the explosion…

Searing pain…

He thought he'd explode from the pain…

…before everything came crashing down…

…his world

His sanity…

Skipper…

Don't give up, Skipper…

…But he was gone…

…vanishing…

…out of reach…

…but was he truly gone?

…the voice told him…he was not gone…

"Where am I?" he asked it. "Who are you?"

Skipper…

"But you can't be Skipper, can you? I mean, I'm Skipper."

A shadowy figure appeared in a flash of white light. It was penguin shaped, but very blurry.

"May I join you?"

You are not ready to join us…

"Why not?"

We are the dead…you are living…

"What kind of dream is this?"

No one replied to him, he looked around. The scenery changed, he appeared to be in the zoo, but there was no sign of life. He was alone. The habitats were blown everywhere and the walls were charred and crumbling. The city that he could see beyond the walls looked at least a century old. The buildings and the zoo looked like they had fallen into disrepair, abandoned and hidden for years.

"Hello?" he called. His voice echoed. He tried to hear beyond the zoo walls, but nothing came. There was no sound of traffic, no laughter, no sounds at all.

"CAN ANYBODY HEAR ME?!" he bellowed.

"No." a small whimper responded.

Skipper jumped, he heard sniffling nearby. He wandered to where an abandoned snow cone cart was sitting.

"Hello?"

A sniffle from inside responded.

He opened the door to find a small penguin sitting there. The little one looked familiar. Skipper helped the small penguin out and looked at him.

"Are we the only survivors of some sort of destruction scene?"

The little penguin didn't answer, just covered his eyes.

"Where are Kowalski and the others? What about my sister? My mom? Marlene?"

The smaller penguin remained silent.

"Who are you?" Skipper asked.

"It's not obvious?" The younger one asked, looking down at his feet.

"Private?"

"No."

Skipper scratched his head. "But then…who are you? Why am I looking at my city like this? Is everyone…you know…dead?"

The younger penguin shook a little.

"Please, I need to know more…Hang on, is this like A Christmas Carol? I'm not a grouch you know. Are you the ghost of Christmas future? I suppose not, that's one scary dude. But this isn't the past or present so…what are you?" Skipper reached out a flipper to the young penguin.

The little one looked up at Skipper with ocean blue eyes.

"I'm you."

**A/N: Please read and REVIEW**


	35. Nightmares fade to tranquility

_**Previously (but not in exactly the same context)**_

_Falling further into the darkness…explosions…Searing pain…_

"_Where am I?"_

…_No sign of life._

_The buildings and the zoo looked like they had fallen into disrepair, abandoned and hidden for years._

"_Hello?" he called._

"_CAN ANYBODY HEAR ME?!" he bellowed._

"_Are we the only survivors of some sort of destruction scene?"_

_The smaller penguin remained silent._

"_Who are you?" Skipper asked._

"_Why am I looking at my city like this? Is everyone…you know…dead?"_

"_Please, I need to know more…what are you?"_

"_I'm you."_

Skipper stepped back, genuinely frightened. He felt the crumbled stone ground under his feet. He heard himself breathing and smelled the remnants of long forgotten trash.

"W-what do you mean? I'm right here…you can't be me."

"But I am." The smaller penguin said. "Call me Skippy."

"Okay, Skippy." Skipper said. "Why are you here? Am I dead?"

"Not really." Skippy answered. "This place is your fear."

"My fear? I fear a little kid?"

"No, you fear losing everyone you love and all those people you tried to protect. In this world, everyone you know is dead."

"Then who are you supposed to be?"

"I'm a part of you…the part that is haunted by fear and trauma, the part that contains sadness and change…the others are hurt by me…I brought pain…and suffering."

Skipper looked at the little penguin. "Alright, I believe you." he said. "Can I get back to normal?"

"Yes." Skippy replied, "You just have to let me go."

"Let you go?"

"Don't worry about me, go live your life. If you dwell on me, your life will be miserable. Think about the happy penguin you were. Think about all you can accomplish…all you have accomplished."

"That'll be hard."

"I know, but you have to try. Try with Christmas."

"Okay, but I don't understand this dream."

"Then snap out of it." Another voice said.

Skipper turned to see Johnny Bone.

"Johnny!" Skipper yelled, running to give him a hug. He tripped and fell through his mentor. "Ouch."

"Sorry, probably should have mentioned that I wasn't real."

"But you look so real." Skipper said, getting to his feet.

"That's because you are determined to see what's there, but you're not opening your mind. You're staying in a bubble."

"I don't want to be in a bubble!"

"Then let go." Johnny said with an eerie echo.

"What do I do first?"

"Conquer your insecurities." Johnny said as he faded away.

"But he's right here and he's NOT GOING AWAY!" Skipper yelled. "JOHNNY! COME BACK!"

"He's never coming back."

"Huh? Who said that?" Skipper asked, looking around. The smaller version of him was no longer there.

"Hey, what's going on? I demand answers!"

"Skipper…"

The voices were heard from all around him. They spoke in a monotonous voice, it was almost a hum. They sounded louder.

"I'm not afraid of you! Come out where I can see you!"

"Skipper…" they echoed again.

"I'd rather see your faces if I'm going to take you down!"

"Skipper…Skipper…"

"Yes, Zombies, what do you want?"

"Skipper…"

"You want me…well COME AND GET ME!" He ran out of the zoo as fast as he could, but the voices kept following him. He looked back and froze.

The zoo looked like it was rebuilding itself. Overgrown hedges nearby were shrinking and buildings were repairing themselves. Slowly, he saw cars traveling backwards and people start to appear. It was as if someone had hit the rewind button on time.

The only problem was, it was fuzzy. He couldn't see.

Then everything stopped. He saw green and purple circles blocking his vision, then he was falling down into the earth, being swallowed into an endless vortex of-

"SKIPPER!"

He gasped and his eyes shot open. He sat up quickly, only to collide with the top of his bunk.

"OW!" He yelled.

"Sorry." A voice said.

Skipper blinked a few times before the room came into focus. It was warm in here, and it was also decorated.

He looked over to see Kowalski.

"Kowalski! You're alive!" he hugged the tall penguin.

"Er, yeah…are you okay?"

"No…yes…well no but yes. I was chatting with Johnny and a smaller part of me and the zoo was in ruins. Then a bunch of zombies were chasing me and time went backwards and then I-" Skipper paused, noticing the concern on Kowalski's face.

"I'm just peachy, soldier!" He said with a smile. "Alright, who wants eggnog?" he hopped out of his bunk and hummed cheerfully, and then he got himself a cup of eggnog and looked around at everybody. "What?" He asked, seeing the shocked expressions on their faces. "Am I standing under mistletoe?"

"N-no sweetie." Sapphire said. "We just thought you would be tired today."

"I'm never tired on Christmas!"

"So you've channeled the Christmas spirit?" Private asked, offering Skipper some breakfast.

"More like I conquered a spirit. I feel better than ever." He said. "Honest, I do."

"Well that's great!" Rocky said. "Pull out the confetti, boys!"

"My team, my command." Skipper said.

Rocky stuck her tongue out at him.

"Ah, my children." Sapphire said, putting her flippers around them.

"Mom!"

"The only downside is that Christmas is full of hugs."

"My boys." Candace said, giving Kowalski and Private hugs too.

"Yay!"

"I love you too."

"My family." Rex said, looking at Rico and Rikki.

"Don't get too huggy."

"Uhh, okay."

Mikayla stood alone near the tree. She was putting up some decorations.

"Hey, come over here." Sapphire said.

"Me?" Mikayla asked, staring down at the floor.

"Yeah, you're part of this family too."

Mikayla blushed. "N-no really, I just…I-"

"Nonsense, you're here so you might as well join in a big family hug."

"Come on in!" Rocky said.

"It makes you feel warm and fuzzy. Apparently it's love, but I'm trying to work out a scientific-" he saw Rocky and Rico snickering. "Come in, hugs are nice." He said, scowling at the other two.

"Please?" Private said, flashing his baby blue eyes.

Mikayla grinned and walked over to them.

They huddled in a group and put their flippers around each other. Kowalski's flipper found a back and he pulled.

"Ow!" Rico yelped, breaking away from the hug. "Who did that?" he asked.

"No idea." Kowalski grinned, holding up a feather.

Rico growled, but Candace stood between them. "Now boys, this isn't what we should be doing. We should be nice to each other."

"Alright, I'm sorry."

"Me too."

Candace smiled. The boys glared at each other when she wasn't looking.

"Rico, do you have a camera? We should take pictures and a video to remember this." Rex said.

Rico nodded and regurgitated a video camera and a camera. Sapphire took the camera while Rex took the video.

The penguins gathered near the tree.

"Merry Christmas!" Private squealed.

Rikki was staring way off center, but the picture was still taken.

Rex positioned himself where he could see the tree. "Is it on?" he asked, staring into the camera.

"Yeah, everyone loves a close view of your beak." Rocky said.

"I'll edit it out later." Rex said. He looked into the camera and shook his head.

"Shall we start with the youngest?" Sapphire asked.

"Yes, that would be Private." Skipper said.

"Okay, here's one from your mom."

Private took the present handed to him and smiled. He unwrapped it quickly and found a book inside. He wanted to say he didn't read, but thought it would be rude and opened it anyway. His smile grew wider as he saw pictures of his mom and dad and his dad was holding an egg.

"Is that-?"

"That's you, darling." Candace said. "Your dad loved you to pieces. This was taken a week before he died."

Private felt a mixture of happy and sad. The result was tears came to his eyes. He let the others see it.

"Thanks mum."

"You're welcome, baby."

"How about Mikayla next?" Sapphire said.

Mikayla gave a start. "M-me? But I-I never-"

"We got you something." Skipper said.

"Really?"

"Yup, Rico."

Rico reached into his mouth and pulled out a basket. It had nice smelling shampoo, some muffins, a cookbook titled _101 Fish Recipes_, and a welcome card.

"Private thought of it." Skipper admitted.

Mikayla blushed and looked down.

"You hate it?" Private asked sadly.

"N-no, no it's not that, it's…I haven't gotten a present in so many years." Mikayla said, her eyes shining with tears. "I appreciate it, honestly." She gave all the boys a hug.

"I got you something too." Rocky said, running over to her bed. She came back and deposited a rock in Mikayla's flipper. "It's one of my favorite rocks, I call it Lucy."

Mikayla stared in amazement, "Lucy? Not Rocky?"

Rocky laughed. "Nope, it's my gift to you."

"I'm next, right?" Kowalski asked.

"Here" Private gave Kowalski a new chemistry set. "I was saving some quarters for that."

"Thanks, bro." Kowalski beamed.

"I got you something too." Skipper said. "A sandwich…A KNUCKLE SANDWICH!"

"NO!" Skipper chased Kowalski around the table until he managed to pin the taller one down.

"Just kidding."

"That's my present?" Kowalski asked, his voice muffled.

"Nope." Skipper got off Kowalski and helped him up. "I sent a fancy cologne to your father."

Everyone looked at Skipper who was grinning like a maniac.

"You sent him a fragrance spray?" Kowalski asked. Then his eyes widened. "You didn't!"

"I did!"

"Good golly…" Kowalski tried to sound exasperated, but then he cracked up in laughter.

"What?" Private asked.

"A skunk contributed, didn't it?" Rocky asked. A smile formed on her beak.

Skipper grinned widely. Everyone was laughing now, except for Private.

"I don't get it." Private said.

Rocky leaned over and whispered something. Private burst out laughing, causing the others to laugh even longer.

"Alright, alright." Rex said. "Who's next?"

"Skipper." Kowalski said automatically. "And I've got a present for you."

Kowalski ran into his lab and brought out a familiar looking machine.

"Is that a coffee machine?"

"Brand new, just hit the stores today. Rico and I got it from the production line."

"Sweet." Skipper said, "Where has this been all my life? It's better than my old one."

"Merry Christmas." Rocky said, pushing her present to Skipper. "A book written for penguins." She said once he opened it. "Specifically, military penguins."

"It's extremely rare." Skipper breathed. "All these tactics and training moves…where did you get it?"

"Apparently dad left it to you. I just found it a month ago and decided to give it to you for Christmas."

"Thanks."

The two of them hugged and Skipper saluted her. Rocky saluted back.

"Also," Sapphire added, "I wanted to give you this." She pulled out a stack of photos. "It's mostly your older siblings, but I thought you'd like to see them again."

"Thanks mom, you're the best."

"You're welcome, and I love you."

"I love you too."

"I have something for you." Private said, pulling out a paper. "It's a poem.

Skipper

The name of a leader

The name of my friend

The name that one will hear

The name that will stick around until the end.

Skipper

You're my friend

You're like a father

You're the best leader anyone could ask for

Your morning training is not a bother

Skipper

You are truly my best friend

Thank you for staying

Thank you for teaching

You will be there 'till the very end

This is how much Skipper means to me

This is truly how I feel

In this great friendship wheel

And I get the sense of camaraderie.

The end."

Everyone applauded and Skipper gazed proudly at Private. Candace was moved to tears and Mikayla was blinking rapidly.

"Thanks soldier, you've always had a way with words." Skipper said. "I think I'll keep you around."

"You've got no choice." Private said, giving Skipper a big hug.

"T-that's beautiful!" Candace sobbed.

"Oh dear, Ca- oh boy, Candace? Come on now, it's alright." Sapphire said, snapping a photo of the boys.

"Rico's next!" Rikki cheered.

"Alright, here you go." Kowalski said, handing Rico a present.

Rico happily tore off the paper. "Oh wow!" He exclaimed, holding a new chainsaw.

"Still not sure how I feel about that." Candace said nervously. "But oh well, it's still a gift."

Rico's next present was from Skipper, it was a supply bag. Rico was able to hold more things in it. "Alright!"

"I got you two things." Private said. "First-"

"Meow-meows!" he said, taking the treat from Private.

"And since your crowbar is now lost in the ocean, I got you this." He handed Rico a shiny silver crowbar.

Rico stared at it longingly. "THANKS!" He shouted, taking Private into a noogie.

"Hey!" Private whined.

"I got you something too." Rikki said.

"I worked on it with her." Rex said.

Rico was given a large picture of a beautiful female penguin.

"Is that Stella?" Sapphire asked.

"Yup, but look on the back." Rikki said.

He saw hand drawn pictures of himself and his sister getting into trouble.

There was one messy scrawl of writing on the bottom.

"Love, Rikki." Rex said.

Rico smiled and gave them hugs.

"Who's next?" Rocky asked. "Me or Rikki?"

"How old are you?" Rikki asked.

"Twenty nine."

"Same here." Rikki said.

"When's your birthday?"

"February 18th." Rikki said. "When's yours?"

"February 18th." Rocky said.

"How is that possible?" Private asked.

"I don't know, I didn't plan this." Sapphire said.

"What time of day were you born?" Rocky asked.

"I don't know."

"It was the morning, I know because I fell asleep on egg duty and I woke up to a pecking baby." Rex said.

"When was I hatched?"

Sapphire thought for a moment. "I think it was the afternoon. The boys had just eaten lunch and your father was chasing them around and it was midday or early afternoon when you decided to come out of your protective shell."

Rocky grinned. "So you're next." She said.

"I guess so." Rikki said.

Rikki got a stuffed animal from Private who said he'd forgotten she couldn't see it. Rikki was happy to get something anyway and gave Private a hug.

Skipper and Kowalski had given her audio tapes. Kowalski's was full of interesting books while Skipper had given her a wide selection of music.

Rocky gave Rikki the complete Avatar: The Last Airbender DVD set on audio tape. She said it took her forever, but she bought it off a kid in Detroit online.

Rico got his dad to let Rikki stay with them; she said it was the best present ever.

Rocky was still reveling over the fact that she had the same birthday as Rikki, but she snapped out of it when Rico gave her a present.

"Haha, Rocky road ice cream." She said. "Thanks Rico."

"That was my idea, get you started on your biography." Rikki said.

Rocky grinned. "Thanks Rikki."

Rico gave Rocky a case of fireworks to begin her pyrotechnic goal.

Private gave her a box of his peanut butter winkies, and Kowalski contributed a pair of goggles.

"Why?" Rocky asked.

"In case you're near me when I'm experimenting." Kowalski said.

Rocky rolled her eyes. "Is this for real?"

"No, I give you this." He held a bottle of a light purple substance. "It was a failed experiment when I was at the base, but I figured that it doesn't have any harmful effects. This stuff glosses feathers and makes them shiny. It's the same exact stuff that stains my bed sheets to this day."

"And it's safe?"

"Guaranteed."

"Alright, thanks Kowalski."

"Now for you three." Skipper said, "Mom, Candace, Rex, we give you a collaborative effort on our part and are proud to present these."

Rico hacked up three books.

Rocky took the video camera while Rex opened the book.

Mikayla took some pictures.

"Oh my…" Candace smiled, looking at a picture of Private covered in snow as a baby.

"How did you do this?" Sapphire asked, looking at pictures from Skipper's first days at the military base.

"It was an effort through the years." Rocky said. "I managed to find old pictures at our old place. It's still there, laying abandoned in Antarctica."

"Yeah, and we got in contact with Uncle Nigel, he sent us some photos that Gran had at her house." Private said.

"This was thought of a few weeks ago." Kowalski said.

"Not that I participated much." Skipper said.

"I think you participated just fine." Sapphire said with a huge grin.

Skipper looked down at the book and blushed. "Me and Marlene…when was this photo taken?"

"Uhh…" Kowalski looked away.

Mikayla snapped a photo.

"Hey!" Kowalski snatched at the camera.

"No." Mikayla said, trying to lift it away from him. He was taller than her and leaned over her.

"Give it." He said.

"Nuh-uh!" Mikayla giggled, turning away from him.

He reached around her and attempted to pry it out of her flippers.

Kowalski tripped on her foot and sent them both tumbling to the ground.

Mikayla tried to lift herself up, but felt Kowalski's body. "Get off." She grunted.

"Give me the camera and I'll think about it." Kowalski said.

She turned her head to find his close by. She blushed and let out a nervous laugh.

Kowalski reddened and stood up. "Fine, but don't caption it." he said, "Come on, we don't want to be late wishing the others a happy holiday, do we?"

"No we do not." Skipper said with a huge grin.

"Oh shut up." Kowalski muttered as he left the hatch.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS! BE COMING TO MY HOLIDAY PARTY!" Julien bellowed.

"OKAY! WE'LL COME!" Nat screamed next to him.

"OW! THE ROYAL EARS HURT!"

Nat smiled and zipped to the penguins. "Merry Christmas everyone. Kowalski, are you okay?" she noted his pink face.

"Fine, hey look it's Izzy." He said.

"Skipper!" Marlene shouted. "Over here, I want to show you something." She stood at the wall of her habitat.

Skipper followed her into her cave.

"What's up?"

"I want to give you your Christmas present, but it's not something you can wrap up."

Skipper smiled. "Is it something nice?"

"Yes." Marlene replied. They were closer to each other.

"Does it make you feel warm and fuzzy inside?"

"Yes it does."

"Can I have it now?"

Marlene smiled and kissed him. She felt lightheaded and happy.

Skipper kissed her back. He wondered if this could last forever.

"Get a room!" A voice shouted, interrupting their kiss.

"Julien, what the heck?" Marlene complained.

"This is our room, go away!"

"Fine, festivities start at five." Julien said.

"Now, where were we?" Marlene asked as soon as Julien had left.

"I believe we were here." Skipper said, continuing the kiss.

**A/N: Break from cliffhangers, how awesome is that?**

**And what about the love in this chapter. I suppose it would be called fluff, is that right? I still feel new here, even though I've been here more than a year. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it.**

_I know I did, it made the imaginary audience in my head say 'AWWWWW'_

**What the-? Miley, don't you have a concert?**

_I'm on a break now. But I can sing for the lovely reviewers__**.**_

**Fire away.**

_Electrified_

_I'm on a wire,_

_Reviewing this story and we're on fire_

_What I said, you heard_

_Now I got you commenting_

_Don't close your mind_

_The words I use are open_

_LALALA I GOT NERVE!_

_Do you?_

**Miss Miley Stewart, everybody! AKA the artist formerly known as Hannah Montana**


	36. Winter fun

"Skipper? Marlene?" Private's voice echoed. "Where are you?" he appeared to be coming closer.

"Guess we have to separate for now." Marlene said. "I'll see you at the party later?"

Skipper nodded. "I'd like that."

"Skipper? Is that you?"

"Yes, Private." Skipper said, meeting the smaller penguin outside. "I just came to wish Marlene a happy holiday."

"Oh, okay." Private said. "Everyone else is having fun in the snow, want to come?"

"I don't know, I-" WHAP! Skipper was hit in the face with a snowball.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Rico laughed.

"You're going to pay for that!" Skipper scooped up snow and patted it before throwing as hard as he could.

Rico dodged it and the snowball hit Kowalski.

Kowalski yelped and looked around at Rico and Skipper. They were both bent double with laughter.

Kowalski took the opportunity to throw a snowball, but it missed and hit Marlene.

Soon, a big snowball fight broke out. There were no teams, just snow being thrown as well as something suspicious from Phil.

Rikki had grabbed snow and flung it as hard as she could.

"HEY!" Julien shouted, shaking pieces of flakes out of his fur.

"Sorry, I can't see!"

"Hey, your habitat water's starting to freeze!" Rocky said.

Kowalski turned slightly, "Yeah, don't disturb it and it'll- Yaaah!" He chopped a snowball thrown by Izzy.

"What are you guys doing?" Mikayla asked.

"Snowball fight, grab some and throw!" Kowalski answered.

Mikayla grabbed some snow, patted and threw it at the nearest animal she could find.

"COLD!" Mort shouted.

"Sorry!" Mikayla squealed. "I- WAH!"

A snowball hit her in the head.

"Pay attention!" Skipper shouted.

"ENEMIES BEWARE, WE HAVE RICO!" Kowalski shouted, lifting up Rico like a cannon. Rico's mouth was full of snow and Kowalski pulled his arm like a trigger. "MWAHAHAHA"

Snow shot out fast and hit most of the participating animals.

Mort was buried in snow when Kowalski was finished.

"I win." Kowalski said.

The others glared at him and scooped up big snowballs. They gave him a death look.

"Oh boy." Kowalski squeaked. He started to run, but slipped on Mort and fell in the snow.

He was about to lift himself up when the first snowball hit. He shook it off to see a shower of snowballs heading towards him.

He shot up and tried to run, but the majority of the snowballs hit him and caused him to fall down again.

"I think he's down." Skipper said. "Kowalski? Are you alright?"

A muffled noise responded.

"Don't worry; we'll get you out of here."

Another muffled sound came from under.

"What?"

They heard a strange noise.

"Kowalski?" Private said.

"Rr-vt- bckp"

"Back up?"

Beep beep beep beep…

"Private…I think you should move." Nat said.

Private backed up, but still looked concerned.

Detonation in three…two…one…

"Deto-what?!" Everyone gasped.

"EAT SNOW, SUCKERS!"

There was a loud BANG and snow flung everywhere as Kowalski held a smoking device.

He was covered in black soot, but still grinned as he looked at everyone else.

"AHAHAHAHA! Snow time to lose your head!" Kowalski laughed. "I've heard of a brain freeze, but this is ridiculous!" He fought to catch his breath. "Oh- haha- you're-ha- completely- Ah, I love this."

"I-I'm N-not." Julien shivered. "S-smarty b-booty peng-penguin…b-be doing s-something."

Marlene, Nat, Mort, Izzy, and Maurice were shivering as they were covered in snow as well.

"K-Kowalski!" Marlene attempted to shout angrily. "Y-you are s-so…"

"Dead meat." Skipper finished.

"Oh boy." Kowalski squeaked again.

"KOWALSKI!" An angry voice yelled.

"Josie, what did I do to you?" The penguin said, eyeing the angry lemur that was rapidly approaching.

Josie held up Maya.

"Hi suck'a." The baby babbled.

"Uhh…I'm not responsible for any damages or colds or inappropriate language use." Kowalski said.

"Come on, Josie." Skipper said, shaking the snow off. "There's a lot worse things she could learn. And I don't even think that qualifies as a genuine swear, just a mild insult. Plus, she's not even saying it right."

"I hate technicalities." Josie grumbled. "I'm still not happy with this."

"I'm sorry; I promise I'll watch what I say." Kowalski said. "Snow need to be icy." He laughed.

"Snow knee, snow knee." Maya said.

"See, she's learning good things." Skipper said. "As well as jokes that are lame."

Kowalski glared at Skipper.

"Why don't we get everyone warmed up?" Skipper suggested.

The others agreed. Soon, the penguins were in the HQ with Marlene, Izzy, and the lemurs. Skipper was reluctant to let Julien in, but Josie gave him Maya to play with.

Sapphire and Candace whipped up a batch of hot chocolate and served everyone.

Private, Nat, and Izzy had blankets on. Skipper sat close to Marlene to keep her warm.

Julien grinned and looked over at them, bouncing Maya on his legs. "Skipper and Marlene sitting in de tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-"

"Get to 'G' and the tree's going to destroy you." Skipper snapped.

"Are you two a couple now?" Josie said. "I knew it, you couldn't resist each other. I thought I saw you two sitting together and-"

"Josie, please don't make a big deal out of this." Marlene said.

"So you ARE admitting to being in love!" Julien said.

"Yeah, now sit down." Skipper said.

"SKIPPER AND MARLENE, SITTING IN DE TREE-"

"JULIEN!" Skipper yelled.

"Stop." Sapphire said. "Both of you, no fighting, it's Christmas."

"Ugh, fine." Julien said, rolling his eyes. "I cannot wait for my party, it will start in- eh, what time is it?"

"Half past three." Rex said. "You have an hour and a half until the party."

"I better get ready!" He said, springing up with Maya and running to his habitat. Josie, Mort, and Maurice followed.

Kowalski, Nat, and Izzy went to Marlene's habitat to chat about memories and adventures since they were separated. Of course, Kowalski kept classified things to himself."

"I think the ice is cold enough for us to skate on." Private said loudly.

Rocky went to check and came back to confirm this. Then she went to skate along with her mother, Candace, Private, Rikki, and Rex.

Skipper looked around; he and Marlene were alone except for Rico and Mikayla.

"Rico, why don't you make sure Kowalski's not giving out classified information." Skipper said. "And Mikayla can go with you."

"Okay." Mikayla said without waiting for Rico to respond. She took off with Rico behind her.

"Now we're alone." Marlene said. "How did you manage that?"

"Same way I managed to slip out of tons of naptimes, sheer luck and understanding siblings."

"You're adorable." Marlene said.

"Flattery, one of my favorite words having to do with you."

"Where will it get me?"

"Back where we were earlier."

"When you guys thought I was a spy when I first moved here and scared the living daylights out of me?"

"Not that far back." Skipper chuckled. "Let me refresh your memory."

"Please."

Skipper kissed her, his mind was numb and light.

"How are you?" Marlene asked.

"Still suffering flashbacks, but they're not as bad as I imagined."

"Does this help?" She resumed the kiss.

"Mmm-hmm." Skipper said.

"Hey Skipper, I- WAH!"

Skipper jumped and turned around. "Private? What are you doing?"

Private had his flippers pressed firmly over his eyes. "I-I just came for…I don't remember."

"Aww, Private." Marlene said, going to pat him on the back. "I'm sorry if we startled you."

"Or scarred you for life." Skipper said.

Private lowered his flippers. "No, I was just um…stunned…but I'm happy for you, really. That's what I wanted to do, give you time together."

"Well, thanks for that." Skipper said.

"Oh no!" Private gasped, "Did I ruin your moment earlier too?" he asked, tears coming to his baby blue eyes.

"Hey, don't worry." Skipper said. "Julien interrupted it first, but you actually announced your presence."

"Do you need more alone time?"

"Well, I was thinking of teaching Marlene to ice skate."

"What? No." Marlene said. "Not me, wrong Marlene. Leave a message after the beep. Beeeeee-"

"Marlene."

"Eeep."

"It'll be fun, and I'll be there for you."

"Promise?"

"I promised to come back, didn't I?"

"Yeah."

"Look at me and tell me you don't trust me."

Her brown eyes met his blue gaze.

"I can't." She said.

"So shall we go?" Private asked.

Marlene turned to him. "Great idea, let's go ice skate."

As soon as Marlene was up there, she was trembling.

"It's not that bad." Skipper said. "Watch!"

The penguins twirled around on the ice and Rico slid on his head.

"Come on, you can do it." Skipper said, holding out a flipper. "After all, have I ever let you down?"

Marlene took a deep breath and reached for his flipper, then retracted it immediately. "I-I can't…it's freezing cold and…what if I fall in and get stuck down there?"

"Do you think that if there was the slightest possible inclination that you could get hurt, I would let you cross danger's path?"

"No."

"Then trust me. We have to trust each other or else we'll be too scared to act because of fear. You have to trust yourself Marlene."

"I trust you and I trust myself, it's the ice I don't trust."

"Marlene, all of us are on the ice now." He pointed to the other penguins. "Don't you think that if the ice couldn't handle it, it would have crumbled by now?"

Marlene had to admit he had a point. "Alright." She said, clutching Skipper's flippers.

She gently stepped onto the ice and squealed at the cold. Skipper led her out a little bit.

"Marlene?"

Marlene looked around, everything was alright. "Yes?" she breathed.

"You're doing it."

"Huh?" She realized that Skipper had let go of her paws, but still kept his flippers out. "WHOA! OHMIGOSH!" She twisted around, her feet not quite getting in sync yet and she fell on her butt.

"These things happen." Skipper said, helping her up. "Let's just slide around for a while." He led her to the edge of the ice and helped her skate across.

"Oh-oh- oh gosh…I-I'm doing it! I'm doing it!" Marlene squealed delightedly.

The other penguins cheered for her and she felt even more confident. Rico was helping Mikayla keep herself steady.

Skipper loosened his grip so Marlene could try to be independent, but she didn't want to let go just yet.

"I could do this forever." She said.

"HEY BUB! DAT IS MY JOSIE!" Julien yelled from his habitat.

Skipper rolled his eyes. "We better see what's up."

"Now listen here, Julien-"

"Shut your smarty beak!"

"What's going on?" Skipper asked.

"Idiocy, that's what." Nat said bitterly. "He didn't do anything illegal." She said to Julien.

"Yeah right!" Julien scoffed. "The otter there thought it would be cool to kiss my Josie."

"It was a small peck on her hand!" Nat yelled.

"I was just being a gentleman." Izzy said.

"WOMAN STEALER!"

"Watch the name calling!" Kowalski shot back.

"Watch his mouth!"

"Julien, I'm fine with this." Josie said. "Nobody's hurt and nobody's trying to steal me away."

Marlene rolled her eyes.

"Julien, Izzy's right, it's the polite thing to do." Skipper said. "Like this. Hello Miss Nat, pleasure to make your acquaintance." He gave her a small peck on her hand.

"And I'm not yelling at Skipper because I know he's being a gentleman." Marlene said.

"Are you sure he doesn't fantasize being with my Josie?"

"I don't." Izzy said softly.

"It's a different story if he kissed her on the lips and professed undying love, which he didn't." Kowalski said. "Oh and-" He smacked Julien on the head. "That's for telling me to shut my smart booty beak. Not even on Christmas can you be any less annoying."

"Eh, what?"

"Nothing. Your party starts in about fifty-three minutes."

"We got to get ready!" Julien said.

"Let's go too." Skipper said.

Approximately fifty minutes later, the animals were making their way to Julien's habitat.

Rocky put on her new body wash and she looked shiny like Kowalski had when he made it.

Julien wanted to perform music himself, but everyone just told him to stick with the boom box.

An hour later found the penguins on the dance floor. Marlene and Skipper were dancing slowly and looking at each other.

Rikki agreed to dance with Private because he didn't mind if she stepped on his feet. Rocky and Rico were chatting about explosives in the corner. Kowalski was refusing to dance; he just stayed behind the table to change the music.

Candace had been asked to dance by Maurice while Rex and Sapphire were dancing together.

"Come on Kowalski, dance." Nat said.

"I don't dance." Kowalski answered.

"That's not what I heard."

Kowalski blushed, "What did you hear?"

"Things…" Nat said slyly. "Come on."

Kowalski shook his head.

"I'll find you a dance partner."

Nat disappeared before Kowalski could retaliate.

"I'm not dancing." Mikayla said, trying to pull away from Nat who had a firm grip.

"You two, dance with each other."

"No." They both said.

"Come on, it's Christmas!" Nat said. "And Julien is not going to make fun of you." She pointed to Julien who was now trying to spin Josie around.

"Well, I guess we could dance next to each other." Kowalski said.

"Okay." Mikayla said.

The two of them stood next to each other and hummed, moving to the slow tune.

"Wow, awkward." Nat said. "You two have fun."

"I am having fun!" Kowalski shouted after her in an annoyed tone.

Mikayla turned away so he wouldn't see her giggle.

"I'm going to get a smoothie." Kowalski said, walking away.

"Can you get me one too?" Mikayla asked nicely.

"Why ca-"

"Kowalski, be a gentleman and get the lady something to drink." Skipper said.

"But-"

"It's the polite thing to do."

"Fine." Kowalski said, disappearing to the snack table.

His mouth fell open in shock when he saw the table. Mort was lying there, groaning while the smoothie cups were empty.

"What did you do?" Kowalski asked.

"My tummy feels dizzy."

"Your tu- Mort, please tell me you didn't drink all of this."

"But it tasted so good."

"It tastes like every smoothie Maurice makes."

"I know…maybe you can get more."

"That would involve going on a snack run, which we can't do because there's a foot of snow out there."

"Why don't you get another foot? I think we have two feets."

Kowalski slapped a flipper to his head.

"Do you have more fruit?"

"No, King Julien used all the foods to make the smoothies and the fruit salad."

"Good golly, we really do need to go on a snack run? The store's closed and I am NOT taking you snack shopping again."

"That's okay, my tummy's-" he ran to the corner of the habitat and threw up.

"That's…attractive…" Kowalski said. He began looking for his team, and then, thinking that he didn't want to bother anyone else's holiday, he slipped off undetected.

He searched the penguin habitat for loose change and put it in a bag before leaving.

He dashed through the frosty Central Park until he saw the market. He looked around before realizing that hardly anyone was out on Christmas and hurried across the street. He managed to slip inside without triggering the alarm and began looking for food. He didn't notice that the lights were still on.

As soon as he was loaded up, the lights shut off and he heard a lock click and a red light appeared at the corner of the door. He stared at it until he realized it was a door alarm, if he so much as opened it a crack, an alarm would sound. He also had no equipment to open the vents, he was stuck.

**A/N: Stuck…and on Christmas too! Please read and review!**


	37. Marlene and the brotherly rescue

"Kowalski's log number one: I have no idea how long I've been here. I am currently trapped in a store with no way out, there are window alarms and a door alarm…Rico is not here to open the vent. Luckily, I've kept a cool head…though that may be due to keeping refuge inside the refrigerated section…Oh who am I kidding?! I'm suffocating in here! If anyone finds this log before I die…HELP ME!" He threw down a box of crackers and buried his face in his flippers.

Almost a mile across the icy grounds of Central Park, a penguin was growing concerned. She'd been waiting for a smoothie that never came.

Mort dizzily made his way to the bouncy and bumped into someone.

"Mort, what's wrong?" Mikayla asked.

"No more smoothie…" Mort groaned.

"What happened?"

"I eated all the smoothies."

"First, eated is not a word; second, it's drank; third, where's Kowalski?"

"He went to get more food."

"WHAT?!" Skipper gasped, tearing himself away from Marlene. "He went without telling me? Maybe he-" He looked around and spotted his other teammates. "No…he didn't take Rico."

"Maybe we should go after him." Marlene said.

"Skipper, is everything okay?" Private asked. He had noticed Skipper's worried expression and brought Rico.

"Kowalski went on an unauthorized snack run alone." Skipper said. "We need to go after him."

"Go after whom?" Candace asked. "Sorry, I couldn't help but see what this was about."

"No one." Skipper said. "Uhh...Rikki wanted to tell you about when she turned blind, right Rikki?"

Rikki jumped, "Oh, right!" She said. "Come, I'll tell you about it."

Skipper, Rico, Private, Marlene, and Mikayla managed to find a spot that was more secure.

"Rico, Private, and I will go rescue him while you two make sure no one worries about us." Skipper said. "If anyone asks, we went back to HQ."

"I want to go with you." Marlene said automatically.

"I'm the one who asked for a smoothie." Mikayla said pointedly.

"What about a smoothie?" Rocky asked, jumping down from a tree. "Why do we have to rescue someone?"

"What the deuce? Isn't there any spot where we can talk privately? Never mind, we're wasting time with this. I need a team and you to distract anyone from our disappearance." Skipper said.

"Well that's boring." Rocky said. "But I'll stay."

"And so will Mikayla." Skipper said. "No arguments please, I need a team of four and Marlene's already had some experience. Also, I'm still not sure about you."

Mikayla pouted, but didn't fight.

"Good, let's go rescue us a nerd."

Skipper, Rico, Private, and Marlene headed off into the darkness.

"Yay, this is exciting!" Marlene said.

Skipper smiled as they approached their destination.

Rico handed him a pair of binoculars.

"Mm-hm…so that's what it is…" Skipper said. "Well men, it looks like we've got a case of door alarms as well as windows. If we try to enter, we'll get caught. Mind you, I'm not fond of waiting until morning to get our comrade."

"May I suggest a rooftop entrance?" Private said.

"Possibly…or we just need to disable the alarms. But we can get inside the roof and exit the door; by the time the police get there, we'll be gone."

"Skipper, isn't that-"

"Risky? Yes, Marlene it is, but I'm willing to place my bets that we'll make it out alright. I'm also not taking a chance on Kowalski's sanity."

"His sanity?" Marlene asked. "Kowalski seemed perfectly content by himself."

"You're forgetting that I know Kowalski better than anyone else, even his friends. Maybe I don't know the first thirteen years of his life, but I know the other thirteen enough to understand how his emotions work. I trust him completely, but he doesn't trust himself."

"Skipper, no traffic!"

"That's our cue!"

The four of them raced across the street and hid in the alleyway between buildings.

"Change of plans, I don't think Kowalski would appreciate having to run from the law, so we use a rope to get down there; pull Kowalski out; and get back to the zoo before Julien actually starts to care."

"Is that likely to happen?" Private asked. Skipper shook his head.

"How do we get up there?" Marlene asked.

"Honestly, don't you know us by now?" Skipper said.

He jumped up and bounced on the sides of the buildings until he spun and touched the roof of the store. Rico and Private copied him.

"Uhh…okay." Marlene said. She jumped on the wall and fell back on the ground.

"Need help there?" Skipper asked.

"No, I got this." Marlene said, standing up again. She jumped on the wall and sprang to the opposite wall. However she was so surprised, she forgot about the opposite wall and crashed into it.

A soft thump told her one of the penguins landed next to her.

"No worries, we'll practice at the zoo." Skipper said. "Grab onto me for now."

Marlene placed her paws around Skipper and held on tight.

"It's a springing movement, and you've got to be quick about it." Skipper said. "So quick that you don't have time to think about it."

Skipper began bounding the walls before Marlene could ask.

Private began to clap when they landed, but Rico slapped him.

"Well that was fun." Marlene said, shaking off the feeling of dizziness.

"Glad you think so, but we have a friend in need down there."

Rico supplied a rope and some tools to Skipper who tied the rope around himself and unbolted the vents when he was lowered to them. Then he untied the rope and jumped down into the store. Private jumped after him.

Marlene and Rico kept a lookout.

"Do you think Skipper truly loves me?" Marlene asked.

"Uhh…okay." Rico said, looking taken aback by the question.

"Sorry, I realize it's a bit weird for you…I think he does love me. I wonder if we're going to have a first date…maybe there will be oysters there…mmm…and romantic music and-"

"Bleh!" Rico gagged.

"Oh, um…sorry…" Marlene said. "I won't talk about it anymore."

Meanwhile, Skipper and Private were keeping a look out for Kowalski. Rico had given them a flashlight and some money for the food.

"Kowalski, where are you?" Private said.

"Kowalski? Are you still here, soldier?"

"Maybe we should split up."

"No. In my experience, splitting up is never a good idea even if it works in cartoons."

"Okay…maybe Kowalski's waiting by the front door."

"KOWALSKI WE'RE HERE TO RESCUE YOU!" Marlene shouted down the vent.

"Shh! Do you want the whole neighborhood to catch us?" Skipper said. "Sorry, but even animals can make loud noises whether humans understand their words or not."

"Sorry, maybe he was hungry."

"Hey, I heard something." Private said. He pointed to the deli area.

Skipper and Private jumped down and found the bag of fruit.

"I guess he was on a fruit run." Skipper said. "Kowalski, are you alright?"

There was a scuffling noise that frightened Private.

"…go away…" a low voice growled.

"We're here to save you." Private squeaked.

"I SAID GO AWAY!"

Skipper slid around the corner and yelped.

"What have you done?"

"Get out of the way or you'll suffer my wrath!"

Private peeked around the corner and let out an audible gasp.

Skipper smirked. "Oh no, I'm so afraid." He said sarcastically. "What were you going to do, bread me to death?"

Private shone the light on Kowalski and tried to suppress a giggle.

Kowalski was holding a breadstick and had a fish stuck to his head. His eyes were wide and quite frightening. He also seemed to have broken several gingerbread men which were lying in a puddle of tomato juice.

"I was hoping you wouldn't have to see an insane Kowalski moment, but it was bound to happen." Skipper said. "Once in a while, my second in command freaks out and this happens."

Private stopped trying to giggle because Kowalski had given him a glare.

"Be reasonable, Kowalski." The younger penguin said. "You've been alone for a little bit, but we're here now."

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because we're brothers."

Kowalski looked stunned. He tensed as Private approached and held the bread stick tighter.

"You shouldn't have gone out alone." Private said. "I did that once and I almost became a chew toy. Remember the penguin credo? I know you do…and I'll never let you swim alone…but I need you to be here for me…Kowalski, please put the bread down."

There was a small thump and some tomato juice splashed onto their feet. The bread immediately began to absorb the juice.

"Put some noodles and meatballs there and we could have a meal." Skipper said.

"That would work better with sauce." Kowalski said.

"Yay, you're back!" Private squeezed Kowalski.

"Strong grip…losing feeling…need…oxygen…" Kowalski gasped.

Skipper laughed and put some money in the cash register, and then he grabbed the bag of fruit.

"Alright men, let's go!"

The boys climbed the rope to the roof.

Rico swallowed the bag of fruit and ate the fish off Kowalski's head.

"Hey Kowalski."

"Marlene? What are you doing here?"

"She's on her first ever mission." Skipper said. "Or at least I think it is…in any case, she's doing great."

Marlene smiled. "Thanks, Skipper."

They managed to zip across the street and started walking home. Rico was in the front; Kowalski and Private were right behind him; and Marlene and Skipper were farther back, chatting.

"Kowalski, look." Private said. "Skipper and Marlene are having fun."

"They must really love each other." Kowalski said with a smile.

"Do you think you and Doris-?"

"No…she's told me that she wants to be friends so many times…I don't think we'll ever be together now." Kowalski sighed heavily. "NOTHING happened…nothing…I feel so sad sometimes…but I suppose I'll have to get over her…"

"I'm sorry, Kowalski."

Kowalski smiled warmly at the young one. "Don't bother yourself about it…little brother."

"Thanks, big brother." Private said with a wide grin. "What about me? Do I get a girlfriend?"

"I'm afraid that's a negative." Kowalski said. "You're still too young for true love."

"But I'm seventeen!"

"I know, but we're brothers and if I have to stay single, so do you."

Private gasped. "But that's not fair!" he complained.

"True…but then again, life isn't fair."

"You're so mean." Private pouted.

"Nah, I'm just watching out for you."

"Then watch out."

"What?"

Private jumped on Kowalski and began tickling him.

"Stop…can't…hahahahaha…Pri- HAHAHAHA!"

One of Kowalski's feet struck out and nearly hit Private.

"Whoa!"

"Sorry…" Kowalski said, gasping for air. "My feet have a timer in them, once you reach the tickle limit, they kick."

Private rolled his eyes.

"What? It's true!" Kowalski said defensively.

"Yeah, I discovered that." Skipper said. "Never try waking up Kowalski with a prank either."

"What prank?" Private asked while Rico laughed.

It was Kowalski's turn to roll his eyes. "These two thought it would be hilarious to put whipped cream in my flipper and then tickle my beak with my own feather." He said.

"And Kowalski nearly punched Rico to the moon; then Rico got two more cans and we had a whipped cream fight at three in the morning." Skipper added. "Needless to say, we had a lot of explaining to do."

"I thought Zander was going to explode." Kowalski chuckled.

"Kaboom!" Rico said.

"I agree, and then Johnny took a can and squirted us." Skipper said.

"So unprofessional," Kowalski said, "but it was hilarious until Zander confiscated the cans."

"And called us a bunch of yellow bellied, childish, pigheaded, idiotic goofballs who would never accomplish anything in life."

"And then made us do an extensive training exercise."

"But it was worth it."

"I agree."

"Yup." Rico said.

Marlene and Private were doubled up with laughter.

"H-how did they put up with you?" Private managed to ask.

"I honestly have no idea." Kowalski said.

"Pure luck and they had no choice." Skipper said. "Plus, they didn't want to lose Kowalski's giant nerdy brain; Rico's regurgitating pyrotechnics; and my awesome strength and leadership. And Johnny said it was funny."

"The world better watch out for the prank kings, huh?" Marlene said.

"In my old age, I've stepped down from pranks." Skipper said.

"Skipper, you're not old, you're t-"

"EH!" Skipper clapped a flipper to Kowalski's beak. "Classified information!"

Kowalski rolled his eyes. "Fine, but I don't know why you're not admitting your age. Doesn't everyone know how old we are?"

"No, they might have guessed…but our ages are supposed to be classified."

"Seriously?"

"No, but I still don't want you to go shooting your mouth off."

"How old is Rico, then?"

"Twenty-seven. Repeat this to no one or I will destroy you. Private's seventeen, you already know you're twenty six, and Marlene's…you're twenty-five, right?"

"No, I'm the same age as Rico." Marlene answered. "How old are you?"

"Yeah, I kind of want to know myself…er, if that isn't too much." Private said.

"I guess it couldn't hurt if you two knew how old I was." He leaned over and whispered to Marlene and Private.

"I'm-"

"ACHOO!"

"Bless you, Rico." Kowalski said.

"Thanks." Rico said.

"That's how old you are?" Private said. "Wow."

"Cool, it was about the age I was guessing." Marlene said.

The penguins decided to turn in for the night after supplying Julien's party with fruit.

Kowalski was shutting down his lab when Private walked in.

"Hey, how's it going?" Private asked.

"Oh, fine." Kowalski said. "I think I'll take a break from inventing tomorrow."

Private's beak fell open. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Of course I am. I just thought I'd spend time with my favorite brother."

Private grinned. "I'll always be your brother."

"Same here, Private." Kowalski said.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Forever and always."

"Forever brothers and I'll always be there."

Marlene had once again requested Skipper's presence in her habitat.

"So, do you know the ages of all the zoo animals?" She asked.

"Most of them." He replied. "You wouldn't believe Mort's age if I told you."

"I'm guessing eight or nine."

"Pssh! Yeah, you'd think it was. He's actually around the age of thirteen."

"Thir- thirteen? Wow, he acts much younger."

"Yup, due to Julien's reckless vine swinging. He didn't pay attention to a tree."

"Ouch." Marlene winced.

"Yeah, ouch."

"Do you know how old Alice is?"

"Giving her the benefit of the doubt, I'll say forty-five."

"I'd think sixty; she's actually thirty-two.

"Wow, but she acts so cranky."

"I think it's just lazy, but at least she keeps the zoo from falling apart…of course with our help."

"After Kowalski's inventions cause the zoo to fall apart."

"Well, that too." Skipper chuckled.

"Will you stay here with me tonight?"

"Of course, I'm sure the others wouldn't mind."

Marlene smiled as she made room for him. She tried to stay awake, but she was too tired from the night's events.

Skipper fell asleep a little while later with his flipper around her.


	38. Dreams unleashed

"Rico!" A voice called. "Wake up, Rico!"

Thinking it was a mission, he shot up unexpectedly. He forgot about the bunk, but surprisingly he didn't hit it. He blinked several times before the voice called his name again.

It was a young penguin playing in a small pool of water in what looked like Antarctica. There were houses surrounding them and other kids were playing as well.

"Rico come play!" She said. "It's fun!" She was splashing around in the water.

Rico looked at her, puzzled. She looked like Rikki when she was younger. He looked down into the water and gasped.

He didn't have a scar and he looked very young.

"Rikki?" He whispered. He usually spoke in a rough voice that was hard to make out at times, but he sounded perfectly clear this time. "What's going on?" he asked.

"We're putting on a water show for Mom." Rikki answered. Her eyes looked perfectly fine and she didn't have any scarring above or below them.

It took a few seconds for the words to register in his brain.

"Mom? Whose mom?"

"Our mom, silly!"

"But our mom is…she's dead…died a few weeks after I was born." He couldn't believe he'd said so much.

"Then why's she inside making fish tacos?"

Rico was confused. "What happened to Skipper and the others? How can I talk?"

"Uhh, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Where's Skipper?"

"Who's Skipper?"

Rico gaped at her. "Y-you met him…we were just exchanging presents yesterday…back in New York."

"I've never been to New York." Rikki said.

"W-what?"

"Why are you talking so much? Have you overcome your shyness?"

"Huh?" He felt odd now. "Hang on; maybe this will prove I'm dreaming."

He retched, causing Rikki to look at him in alarm.

He retched again, this time the other kids looked up.

Again, he retched.

"Stop it or I'm telling Mom!" Rikki said. "You're going to make yourself sick."

"But I can regurgitate things!"

He retched again, but nothing happened.

"No you can't, now stop that!"

"Where's our house?" He asked.

"O-over there." Rikki said, put off by the sudden change in subject. She pointed to a house a little outside the village.

He slid on his belly to it. It looked like his old home, or what he remembered of it at least. He drew a deep breath and entered.

There was a small clattering noise followed by a sizzle. He smelled the delicious aroma of cooking fish. He sighed dreamily; it was like a bit of heaven-

_No_. He scolded himself. _I have to stay alert like Skipper taught me._

He put his flippers up in defense as he walked further into the house. The living room was small. There were four chairs around a small fireplace and a bookshelf on the other side. He entered the hall and saw two bedrooms, a bathroom, and the kitchen.

"Rico, is that you?" A female voice called.

_That can't be anyone at the zoo_. Rico thought, wracking his brains. _It almost sounds like Skipper's mom, but not quite._ He knew he'd heard it before, but he didn't remember.

He ignored the delicious smell that threatened to overcome him.

"Rikki? Rico?"

Rico flattened himself against the wall as the other penguin moved around to see outside the kitchen. He held his breath as she approached.

She poked her head outside the door. Turning, she finally found Rico.

"Hey, sweetie." She said. Her face reminded him of Rikki.

"M-Mom?" Rico said, putting his flippers down.

The kind smile faded a little. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine…I can't believe you're here!"

"Why wouldn't I be?" She asked. "Did something happen on the playground?"

Rico didn't answer, he simply stared at her. She looked exactly like the picture his dad had shown him.

"Stella…"

"Yes honey, that's my name. Was that your worry?"

"I don't know…"

"Maybe you're hungry, have some fish tacos." She took his flipper and steered him to the kitchen where some tacos were ready on a plate. "They're delicious looking, right?" she asked. "Maybe one day you'll be a chef."

"I make good sushi." He said.

"Really, you'll have to show me how."

"I can't…it doesn't work."

"The sushi?"

"My regurgitating, it doesn't work. I couldn't make any dynamite come or a bowling ball or…or anything…"

"Are you feeling alright?" Stella asked, putting a flipper to Rico's head.

"Help me!"

Rico looked around, startled. The muffled voice sounded nearby.

"What happened?" Stella asked as Rico stood up.

"I-I heard…" He ran to the door and looked outside. Rikki was approaching, but she looked unscathed.

"What's wrong?" Stella asked.

"Is that fish tacos I smell?" Rex asked, coming down the hallway.

"Yes, but something's wrong with Rico."

"Help!" This time it was closer, sharper.

"Why do you need help?" He asked.

"What are you talking about?" Rikki asked.

Stella rushed to check on her tacos while Rex put a flipper on Rico's forehead.

"What's going on?" Rikki asked, her voice sounded oddly distorted and she looked blurry.

He thought he heard a distant yell. He ran to the kitchen to find the tacos burnt and his mom was in the middle of throwing them away, but it was odd. Everything was frozen. He looked behind him; the living room had dissolved into a mess of broken colors.

He looked back to his mom to find her fading away. She was looking up and smiling like in the picture, frozen, unable to speak, unable to see, unable to live...

"NO! MOM!" He yelled. He ran towards her, but she only seemed to get farther away. There were distant yells, but they were becoming clearer as his vision was becoming blurrier. "Come back! COME BACK!"

There was a distant bang and his world shattered. Bits of color fell to the dark ground like fragments of glass. One fragment shone with blue eyes that hadn't seen in nearly twenty seven years…they were just a picture…but it seemed…so real…

Concrete…box…he was in a concrete box…he looked to the side to see the outlines of penguins slowly returning to sleep. He hoped he hadn't woken them up. It was a minute or two before he realized his eyes were wet. He pulled a newspaper from his gut and wiped his eyes with it before realizing he had to use the restroom.

**Meanwhile…**

He was walking across the cold ground, darkness pressed on his eyeballs. Ruins of the Antarctic Base came into view. He didn't know how he got there. Then- he screamed. It was a pained, horrified scream. The reason for this terrible scream was in front of him, covered in blood. The penguin known as Lenny Johnson stood in front of him.

"Private." He growled.

"J-Johnson…w-what's going on?" Private whimpered.

The sight of the penguin scared him. He was badly scarred and smelled awful.

"It's your fault, you know. If you hadn't been so slow, I could have gotten medical attention. I despise you even more now."

The bodies of Skipper, Rico, and Kowalski appeared on the ground.

"See the preview of what I am about to do to you?"

"N-no, you're not real! I'm not having this nightmare!" Private screamed, burying himself in his blankets. "Help me!"

"It is completely real, looks like I have to kill you now. There is no one to help."

Private's head shot up, he saw the penguin with a knife. Johnson bolted towards him.

"AHHHHHH!"

"YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE, I WILL COME AFTER YOU!"

"HELP!"

The darkness engulfed him again and he tried to get up, but collided into something hard and opened his eyes dizzily. His head hurt and lights were popping in his eyeballs. He was drenched in sweat.

Looking around to make sure no one else noticed, he ran off to the bathroom.

He thought he heard voices before shutting the door behind him.

He splashed his face with water and looked up in the mirror.

"NO!" He screamed again, catching sight of a terribly damaged face.

"Hey, did you miss me?"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

There was a frantic banging at the door.

"Private, let me in!"

"NO! I WON'T LET YOU IN! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

"I'm out here, not in your head."

"NO, YOU HAVE A BLOODY KNIFE TO USE AGAINST ME!"

"A kni-? Private, it's me. It's Kowalski."

"And I will end you." Johnson's voice whispered.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Private stepped backwards and fell into the bathtub, sobbing.

"Private!"

The bangs were louder until the door burst open with a mighty crash.

Kowalski winced as he had used his previously injured foot.

He spotted the young penguin curled up in the tub. He rushed over and climbed in, patting the younger one's back.

"I promise it's me, I won't hurt you."

Kowalski lifted Private into a hug.

Private clung to the taller penguin as though he were a lifeline. Tears spilled out of his eyes as he continued to whimper and cry.

"I'm here for you." Kowalski said.

"I-It w-was…I saw…terrible…"

"Deep breaths, then speak."

"Johnson…"

"You saw Johnson? What did he say? Did he do something?"

"B-blamed me…k-killed…knife…"

"He blamed you and killed you?"

Private sobbed harder.

Kowalski tightened his hold on the younger penguin. "It wasn't your fault at all." He said. "Private, you tried your best to save him. You actually did well. You brought Jordan's brother back. She would have wanted to know if her brother was dead or alive."

"Y-you and Skipper and Rico…all dead…he's coming after me…"

"Private, look at me."

Private's bright blue eyes which were currently puffy and red looked at Kowalski's darker blue eyes that were filled with concern.

"Private. You're my brother and brothers take care of each other." Kowalski said.

"I-I c-can't…I had nightmares…I'm weak and stupid…"

"No." Kowalski said firmly. "You are not. Just because you're the youngest, doesn't mean you're weak. And you're very smart, well not a slightly mad genius like me, but still smart."

"Slightly mad?" Private asked.

Kowalski grinned. "Yup. Private, you're very brave. If you hadn't gone looking for Skipper, we wouldn't have actually found him until it was too late."

"It was foolish of me."

"To go on your own, yeah, but in the end you were successful."

"What happened between you and Doris?"

Kowalski blushed. "Uhh…nothing."

"Come on, you had a crush on her for ages. What changed?"

"She agreed to go on a date with me and…I-I sorta freaked out when she told me her brother was Blowhole…"

"Really? Does Skipper know? What happened?"

"Skipper knows. Doris said that her brother is a genius and that I'd be smarter if I didn't keep boasting."

"She should have had a showoff jar."

"Yeah…Also, Skipper was spying on our dates and she didn't like that. I didn't mind, but Doris said it was annoying. She told me to stop him, but I told her he was my leader and I can't tell him what to do. We had a fight at the end and…" He trailed off.

"Oh, but why do I have to stay single?"

"Because you're too young and I don't have a girlfriend."

"How old was Skipper when he started dating?"

"I don't know."

"It must have been before he was seventeen because now he's t-"

"Uhh…"

They turned to see Rico at the doorway holding a newspaper.

"Bad dream, we were leaving now." Kowalski said.

Private followed Kowalski out so that Rico could do his business. Kowalski thought he saw red in his teammate's eyes, but didn't question him.

"The nightmare's fading a bit." Private said.

"Good, and remember that I'll always be there for you."

"Even when you have your Kowalski insanity moments?"

"Yup, because there will be a lot of those."

"I can deal with that."

"That's because you're my brother."

Private grinned and hugged Kowalski.

"What would you like to do tomorrow, little bro?"

"Spend time with Mum, big bro."

"That sounds like a great idea."

They crawled back into their bunks. The other penguins had groggily awoken, but fell back to sleep almost immediately.

"Kowalski?"

"Yes, Private?"

"Thanks."

"No problem, try not to have any nightmares."

"I'll see what I can do." Private yawned. "I love you." he mumbled sleepily.

Kowalski smiled. "I love you too, and I promise to protect you." he whispered.

***Sometime later.***

Skipper opened his eyes and was momentarily startled before he realized where he was.

Turning his head to the right, he saw Izzy and Nat curled up together. Izzy's position reminded him slightly of Kowalski with his mouth hanging open.

He turned to the left to find Marlene's sleeping face inches from his. His flipper was slightly numb from having Marlene's head on it. Her paw was up against his chest as if she'd fallen asleep to the rhythmic beating of his heart.

It seemed like it was years ago that he'd admitted to Marlene that he loved her before going into battle. He'd granted his men a break from training until after New Years when their families would return to the village. He couldn't remember a time when it was this peaceful; it must have been before the lemurs came.

"Do you always wake up early?"

Skipper blinked, he hadn't realized that Marlene woke up.

"Good morning," He whispered, "sometimes I wake up early to do training. I was going to check on everyone, make sure they're alright."

"Do you want me to go with you?" She yawned.

"If you want."

She lifted her head so Skipper's flipper was free. They both got up without waking the other two and exited the cave. Marlene stretched and Skipper shook himself awake. Marlene slid across the frozen pool, feeling the ice waking her up. Skipper followed, sliding on his back.

They both headed to the penguins habitat.

"Kippy! Malee!" A high pitched squeal called.

They turned to see Maya waving to them from a high chair while Josie was feeding her.

They waved back before heading down the fish hatch.

Private was watching Lunacorns while Kowalski and Rico sat at the table cleaning out old beakers and test tubes. They looked up when Skipper entered.

"Hi." Private said.

Rico waved tiredly.

"Good morning." Kowalski said.

"Morning, boys." Skipper responded. "You remember that I gave you time off, right? You didn't have to get up so early."

"The Lunacorns were on." Private said.

"Force of habit." Kowalski replied. "Also, we all had a hard time sleeping last night."

"Really? How bad was it?"

"I had a nightmare." Private said. "And I was sleeping on and off ever since."

"I wasn't sleeping well either." Kowalski said. "A bit of nightmare here and there, but I kept waking up."

Rico shrugged and looked away.

"It'll take a while." Marlene said. "How about I make breakfast?"

"You cook?" Kowalski asked.

"No, but it's a good time to try."

"That sounds like a good idea." Skipper said. "Rico, can I talk to you up top?"

"Yeah, okay." Rico mumbled.

Skipper paused for a moment before nudging Rikki awake.

"Hmm?" She said.

"I need you to follow me." He whispered.

"W-what happened?" She yawned.

"I need to talk to you and Rico."

Rikki got up without another word and allowed Skipper to guide her up top.

"Is everything alright?" Rikki asked as soon as she heard the fish hatch close.

"That's what I wanted to ask Rico."

Rico avoided eye contact, but Skipper saw a hint of red.

"Rico, you're the toughest penguin I know." Skipper said. "What happened to make you cry? I know you did."

"You cried?" Rikki asked. "Was it mom?"

Rico looked up at her. "How?" he croaked.

"How do I know? Because I keep hearing her voice when I fall asleep. It's been that way for long time. Then when you got captured, I heard the both of you calling for me but I couldn't do anything."

Rico sighed. "Fish taco…"

"She was making fish tacos? I think I remember that, but it was a long time ago." Rikki said.

"It's okay to admit you're being haunted." Skipper said. "We all have nightmares. Sometimes I hear Kowalski or Private at night, I know they're being haunted by nightmares. You and Kowalski don't have to keep your emotions bottled up. Not yet, at least."

"You think so?" Rico asked.

"Yes, I think it's alright to admit you're afraid." Skipper said. "And you can talk to us about it. We were there too. Private, Kowalski, and I were all there."

Rico nodded before remembering Rikki was still there. "Okay."

"Alright, let's see how good of a cook Marlene is."

The three of them headed down to find everyone else waking up except for one penguin.

Rico grinned. "Hey." He said to Rikki. "Dad asleep."

"Really? Well, dear brother, shall we wake him up?"

"Yeah."

The two of them approached the bed Rex was in.

"On three."

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three."

"WAKE UP!" "GOOD MORNING!"

The two of them bounced on the bed.

Rex gave a startled grunt and looked at the two penguins. They'd finally stopped jumping and just grinned.

"Next time, set the alarm." Rex mumbled. "I could almost swear you were babies again. You haven't done that since you were small enough to be carried."

"Hey, why not?"

"Yeah!"

"Because you're older." Rex replied.

"Older is boring." Rikki said.

"BORING!" Rico repeated.

"And just what are you two going to do today?" Rex asked. His children finally got off his bed so he could get out.

"I was thinking skydiving." Rikki said. "But we can build the most awesome snow fort in the history of snow forts."

"With cannon." Rico said. "Always cannons."

"CANNONS RULE!" Rikki cheered.

"WHOO!" Rico said.

"Ooh, that smells good." Skipper said. "What are you making?"

"I thought it was an omelet, but now I think it's fish pancakes." Marlene answered. "Who wants to be the first taste tester?"

Private was about to raise his flipper, but Rico zipped up to Marlene and batted his eyes.

"Pleeeeeaaase?"

Marlene giggled. "Alright, here." She gave him a pancake which he quickly gobbled up.

"Yum." Rico said, patting his stomach.

"Really? Thanks!" Marlene said. "This was my first time cooking. It really was great?"

"Yeah." Rico said, eyeing the other pancakes.

"Getting Rico's approval means you're doing great." Skipper said.

"Alright, everyone come get a pancake!" Marlene said.

Marlene made enough for everyone to have two pancakes, but she was pretty sure that Rico had somehow eaten a third.

She looked around to see Mikayla picking at a pancake. She appeared to only have taken a few bites.

"What happened, did you become full?" Marlene asked.

"No." Mikayla said. "I gave my second pancake to Rico."

"So that's what happened." Marlene said. "Do you not like it? I put cinnamon in it. Are you allergic?"

"N-no, I like it." Mikayla said, "Honestly, it's wonderful. I'm just not very hungry. It's not your cooking at all, it's just me. I don't have a big appetite." She saw Rico staring at the pancake. "Here, you can have the rest." She pushed her plate towards him with a small smile.

"Thanks." Rico said.

"I'm fine." Mikayla said, noticing the concern on Marlene's face. "I'm probably still full from last night. Nothing to worry about."

"Okay." Marlene said, still not quite sure.

"HELLO NEIGHBORS!" Julien yelled, peering down at them.

Everyone stared at him.

"Well you're a lively bunch. I was expecting more of a PARTY!"

"Hey, Julien." Skipper said. "Have you ever had a fish hit you from a slingshot?"

"Eh, no. I don't think so. Why?"

Skipper pointed at Rico who released the rubber part of the slingshot.

"Ahh!" Julien was hit by the fish. "Hey, what was that being for?"

"That was for annoying us." Skipper said.

"Don't be a grouchy-puss." Julien said. "I want to know when you are getting rid of…her…"

"Who?"

"That annoying Natalie."

"You annoy her."

"No, she is insulting the king which is me."

"Well, tell her it's my job to insult the king which is you."

"So you're admitting I am the king."

Skipper glared at him.

"I want to be spending time with my BFF." Julien said with a huge grin.

Skipper groaned.

"He's your BFF?" Rocky asked.

"Yup." Julien said. He jumped down and put an arm around Skipper. "Julien and Skipper, best friends forever! I may drive him crazy, but we're bestest friends and he cannot be denying it."

"Oh, yes I can." Skipper said.

"Oh, NO YOU CAN'T!" Julien inhaled, but Skipper put a flipper to his mouth.

"If you start singing, you'll be my late friend."

"What am I late for?"

"You're late for leaving."

"Aw, can't we spend some quality time together?"

"Why do you want that?"

"Because I am tired of Mort. And I got in trouble with Josie again."

"And I found the reason."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please."

"No."

"Please!"

"No!"

"PLEASE!"

"N-O. That spells no."

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"

"Stop that."

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"

"Ringtail would you-"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssssssssssssssssssssss sssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeee-"

"FINE! Fine I'll hang out with you today."

"Yay!" Julien said.

"You're infuriating."

"What?"

"Nothing, let's get this over with."

The others had watched the exchange with amusement. As soon as Julien and Skipper had left, they all burst out laughing.

"So, what do we do first best buddy?" Julien asked.

"How about not calling me best buddy." Skipper said.

"Aw, you know it's totally true."

Skipper glared at Julien. "Honestly, why do you want to hang out with me today?"

"A guy can't hang around with his friend without a reason?"

Skipper sighed. "Fine, but I will get to the reason whether you want to tell me or not."

"Yeah, you keep looking for a reason and I'll PARTY!"

"Can I leave now?"

"No." Julien said shortly.

"Alright, then what do you want to do?"

"Let's watch me be kingly."

Skipper slapped a flipper to his forehead. "Don't you already do that?" Skipper groaned.

"I just wanted to chat." Julien said. "Tag, you're it!"

Skipper barely registered the tap before Julien bolted away. "What the-?" He saw Julien climbing the clock tower and slid after the lemur.

"Hi." Julien said once Skipper had landed in front of him.

"What are you doing up here?"

"I needed a secrety place to ask you something."

"What?"

"I am needing your opinion on de female of the species if you know what I mean."

Skipper stared at the lemur. "You need my opinion on girls?"

"Yeah, you and Marlene are doing great and Josie's been moody in the recent days."

"I noticed that when she yelled at Kowalski." Skipper said. "What did you do?"

"I don't know, she just exploded at me." Julien said.

"Well you must have done something, or there's something else going on."

Julien turned pink. "Were you here in November?"

"No, and neither were you." Skipper said. "Why, is she sick?"

"She has been getting sick in the morning. And I mean the throw up kind. And she says she likes eating fish the way you penguins do. She covers it in mustard."

"Julien-?"

"Maybe." Julien said, his face turning a deeper pink. He avoided eye contact with Skipper.

"And you wanted me to know first, why?" Skipper asked.

"Because you are my best friend."

"You meant that?"

"Of course."

"Then as your best friend I say you rushed into the relationship with Josie."

"But she's so-"

"I know, but it was a little quick."

"Can't stop the irresistible Julien charm." Julien wiggled his eyebrows.

"If you do a dance like Kowalski did, I will disown you as my friend."

Julien laughed. "What about Marlene? You have de love for her."

"Yes, but I'm not going to dance. I don't dance."

"I bet you do."

"Do not."

"You sing."

"That was to get rid of Blowhole. FYI it was your fault for going into penguin business in the first place."

"As the king I am not to be given the blame for silly things."

Skipper shook his head. "You are insane."

"More or less than smarty booty penguin?"

"More. Kowalski's insanity moments don't last forever."

"Since we are best friends, let's tell each other secrets!"

"What?" Skipper said.

"I go first. I stuffed a pear in your old coffee maker."

"That was you?"

"I wanted to know how to make fruit scented coffee."

Skipper crossed his flippers. "I'm not telling you any secrets."

"Why not?"

"They're all classified."

"One teensy tiny little secret?"

"Okay, I'm a penguin."

"Yes, I knew it- wait, what?" Julien stared at Skipper. "That's not a secret."

"Yes it is."

"How?"

Skipper smiled.

"You're kind of giving me the creeps." Julien said nervously.

Skipper shrugged and zipped out of sight.

"Hey, where'd you go?" Julien said, trying to follow Skipper.

The lemur gave up an hour later and returned to his habitat.

**A/N: Didn't forget about this story, did you? Don't worry, I'll still write it! And yes, they still have nightmares sometimes. It'll be a while…but who says something else won't pop up…mwahahaha…enjoy!**


	39. New Years surprises

New Years Eve came too fast for them this year. The boys knew they'd have to say goodbye to their parents soon so they tried not to think about it.

In the days leading to New Years, the boys had spent as much time with their families as possible. Sarah had contacted them to inform them that the only ride she could get them was to be January first at seven in the morning.

Julien called all the animals at nine o clock pm on New Years Eve.

"This better not cut into our fireworks time!"

"Yeah, we want to see the ball drop!"

"What do you want?"

"QUIET!" Skipper yelled.

"Thank you." Julien said. "I am calling all of you to tell you that we have a new addition to our royal family." He said.

"OH MY GOODNESS!" Marlene squealed, looking at Josie.

The room applauded politely.

"Congratulations!" Becky said.

"Aww, how adorable!" Stacy squealed.

"Well how about that." Rex said.

"Wow, a baby." Kowalski said.

"Hopefully more normal than Julien." Nat said.

"How many lemurs are there?" Izzy asked.

"Too many." Skipper answered.

For the next two and a half hours, the zoo animals congratulated the lemurs and prepared for New Years.

The penguins, otters, and lemurs managed to climb onto the roof of a vacated building as close to the lit up ball as possible. Times Square was filled with people.

"Wow, the city is so beautiful." Josie said.

"Yup." Skipper said. "It's all ours to protect, right boys."

"Yeah." Kowalski sighed.

"Right." Private said.

"Uh-huh!" Rico agreed.

The evening was ripe with anticipation as Kowalski glanced down at the clock often.

"Two minutes left." Kowalski said.

"Noisemakers ready?" Skipper said.

Everyone nodded.

"Can we blow them now?" Mort asked.

"Not quite." Maurice said.

"One minute."

"Now?"

"Did I say now?"

"No."

"Then not yet."

"Now?"

"Mort."

"Yes?"

"Stop asking me that."

"Okay" 

Kowalski nodded to the ball when it started moving downwards.

"There we go!" Skipper said. "Ten…"

"Nine…"

"Eight…"

"Seven…"

"Six…"

"Five…"

"Four…"

"Three…"

"Two…"

"ONE!"

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" The animals screamed and cheered along with the crowd below. "WHOO!"

They blew their noisemakers and popped the confetti. Rico had pretty good fire sparklers going.

Skipper and Marlene shared a kiss. Julien pecked Josie on the cheek. Josie hugged him.

"HOORAY!" Mort squealed.

"YAY!" Maya yelled, not quite getting why everyone was happy. Rico had given her a pair of mini earmuffs. It didn't completely cover the noise, but just enough to not blast her eardrums.

"BRING ON THE FESTIVITIES!" Julien said, cheering to the fireworks display.

"Oh I wouldn't be surprised if both of my babies grow up as loud as you." Josie said. Sapphire was the only one to catch that.

"Sweetie, I've had five kids, you'll get used to it after a while." She said.

Josie grinned.

"Back to the zoo!" Skipper managed to shout five minutes later. "Continue celebrations there."

He thought he saw Rico drop something off the edge of the building, but he didn't ask.

The party seemed to continue even when all the animals were in their respective habitats. Rico had accidentally set off a blazing firework around their pool and melted the ice. Skipper slapped him.

"Did anyone see Mikayla?" Private asked.

"I was there." Mikayla answered.

"Oh, did you enjoy it?"

"Yes."

Private looked concerned, she hadn't sounded like she enjoyed it.

"I enjoyed it!" Rikki said. "It was awesome! You could practically feel the excitement radiating from the crowd!"

"Yeah, everything looked so beautiful!" Rocky said. "I got pictures to show my team."

CRASH! The mug fell to the floor and coffee splashed out.

Skipper looked at her. "Your team? You mean you're not staying?"

"I'm sorry. I got the call earlier, but I didn't want to worry you."

"I-I thought you were staying." Skipper said.

"I thought so too, but I have a new team who needs me."

Skipper inhaled sharply and proceeded to his bunk.

"Skipper, this is supposed to be a happy time. Come on." Rocky said.

He didn't respond.

POP

The other penguins turned to Rico.

"Sorry." He said.

"It's alright." Rex said.

"Skipper." Sapphire said. "Sweetie, please talk to us."

Still no response.

Rico threw a shoe at his leader.

"OW!" Skipper said, jumping out of his bunk. "What was that for?" he demanded.

"Sister." Rico said furiously.

"Yeah, what about her?"

"Only sister."

"I know she's my only sister."

"Your sister."

Skipper sighed. "You're right…Rocky, I'm sorry."

"It's fine, I just didn't want to hurt you because you were excited for New Years."

"I'm not hurt. I won't be."

"Great." Rocky said.

"Alright everyone, if we want to wake up early we need some shuteye." Skipper said. "Men, to the bunks!"

The boys hopped in their bunks and everyone else went to their beds.

"Commencing lights out." Kowalski said.

"Lights out initiated." A cool female voice sounded. "Lockdown initiated."

The fish hatch clicked shut and the lights turned out.

"Lights out, seriously." The voice said.

"Thanks, Avs."

"You're welcome, Kowalski." Avs said.

"Avs?" Skipper asked.

"Automated Voice System. AVS or Avs." Kowalski responded.

"I said lights out, Rico." Avs said.

Rico shut off his flashlight and swallowed it.

"And she's not going to go robo-psycho on us?"

"Nope, I know every part of her and I installed no feelings or logical thought whatsoever. Just a sensor device is there to tell if lights are still on."

"I'm keeping an eye on it." Skipper said.

"Suit yourself." Kowalski yawned.

"Time to wake up. Time to wake up. Skipper, wake up."

"Huh?" Skipper mumbled sleepily.

"Wake up protocol initiated. Would you like some coffee?" Avs asked.

"Sure." Skipper said, slowly getting out of bed. The others started stirring as well.

"Now flushing your poop."

"Excuse me?" Skipper said. He looked around to see Rico gone.

"Thank you for washing your flippers, have a nice day."

Rico came out of the bathroom with a grin.

"Kowalski." Skipper said.

"Yeah." Kowalski mumbled sleepily.

"Can you program Avs to not tell me what Rico is doing in the bathroom?"

"Sorry, I'll fix that."

"Recording Lunacorns for Private." Avs said.

"Yay!" Private said.

"Your coffee is ready, Skipper."

"Thanks." Skipper said.

"Unlocking HQ."

The fish hatch clicked.

"Cool." Rocky said.

"Kowalski is very smart."

Kowalski grinned at Skipper. Skipper rolled his eyes.

The penguins ate breakfast and waited until a helicopter landed in the park.

Mikayla decided to follow them and acted as Rikki's guide.

Sarah waited for the group to approach.

"Hello everyone." She said.

"Hi!" They responded with salutes.

"At ease." She said.

"Excuse me, may I ask if you are alright?" Mikayla asked. She had noticed Sarah's red eyes.

"Oh yes, I was just thinking about my son." She said. "It is still very hard. Sometimes I wonder how I get out of bed."

Sapphire gave a sad smile. "Having lost my husband and three children of my own, I know how you feel."

"I'm sorry." Sarah said.

The parents turned to the younger penguins.

"Oh my boys, I'll miss you." Candace said, giving Private and Kowalski hugs.

"Promise to visit?" Private asked with teary eyes.

"Yes, as long as you promise too." Candace said.

"We'll try." Kowalski said.

"I love you two."

"We love you." Private said.

"Thank you." Kowalski said.

"You two take care of each other." Rex said to his kids.

"Yeah." Rico said.

"It's a promise, Dad." Rikki said.

Skipper sighed as he approached his mother and sister.

"Mom, I-"

"Sweetie, I love you and I trust you to live up to your name." Sapphire said.

"What if I mess up?"

"You won't. You can't mess up. These guys are your team, they'll help you. You're not alone."

Skipper smiled and hugged her.

"Hey little bro." Rocky said. "Do I get a hug too?"

"Yeah." Skipper said.

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright because I know we'll see each other again."

"You think so?"

"In spite of what's ahead, I know so."

The siblings shook flippers and hugged before Rocky departed to the helicopter.

"I'll miss you." Skipper whispered.

"We'll all miss them." Kowalski said.

Private tried his best to hold back tears as they took off. A few managed to escape and run down his face.

Skipper turned to the other penguins.

"Well, it looks like it's back to normal around here." He said.

"I doubt it." Private said.

"Yeah, we still have no idea what the enemy is up to and-"

"I know, Kowalski." Skipper said. "Which is why we must keep on our guard and work as normally as possible. The zoo is opening again soon and we can have fun again."

"Kaboom?" Rico asked.

Skipper shook his head. "Perhaps another time would be good. Today will be doing what you want, but tomorrow is back to training. We have a few days before the zoo opens again."

The boys nodded.

"What do we do?" Rikki asked.

"Whatever you want, I guess."

"Since Rico melted the ice, let's go swimming." Private said. "It'll be fun!"

"Alright." Rikki said.

The two of them ran back to the habitat.

"I'll continue working on an invention I had." Kowalski said.

"Build sub." Rico said.

"Yeah, we need a new submarine." Skipper agreed.

"And I'll just be around." Mikayla said.

Skipper nodded. He and Rico went back to HQ to work on the submarine and the plane.

Mikayla didn't want to swim and decided to relax in the penguins HQ.

"OW!" Kowalski shouted.

BOOM!

"Aw, crud."

Mikayla saw smoke coming from the lab. She gasped and ran in there. "Are you okay?"

"The question is did the experiment actually work?" Kowalski muttered.

"Sorry, I didn't know if there was a fire."

"Can I use you for a test subject?"

"Uh…I don't know…will it hurt?"

"Hmm…hurt…let's see…huh…hurt…"

Mikayla backed up nervously. "I think I'll watch the swimming penguins."

Kowalski shrugged. "Suit yourself." His expression brightened. "Can you send Private in here?"

"Okay, but I think I should warn him."

She turned around and suddenly she felt a surge of energy and saw a blast of light. Then she laughed. She couldn't stop laughing.

"W-what did you-?" She couldn't finish as she was laughing so hard.

"Effects too extreme." Kowalski said, writing on a clipboard. "Tickles instead of increasing euphoria."

"P-please…" She gasped. "T-Turn off…"

Kowalski zapped her with a ray.

Mikayla gasped for breath. "W-why did you do that?" she asked.

"Test subject surprised and out of breath." He wrote on the board again.

"Did I say I wanted to be your test subject?" She snapped.

"Subject a bit upset."

"A- OF COURSE I'm a bit upset!" Mikayla's voice became higher. "You zapped me with a ray and totally took me off guard!"

"Subject raises voice to a squeak to indicate level of upset."

"STOP THAT!" She yelled.

"Subject now expressing anger."

"I- never mind." She huffed. She rolled her eyes and stomped out.

"Anger cooled slightly; subject has been moved to exasperation."

"I am not your test subject!"

"Test subject has quit."

"I'll test your subject." Mikayla muttered.

"Ex-Subject now muttering threats that could possibly be taken the wrong way. May I test a feather of yours?"

"What? No."

"What's going on?" Private asked, climbing down.

"Mr. Brainy decided to use me as his test subject and won't stop calling me that. Now he wants a feather." Mikayla explained.

"Subject now complaining to others." Kowalski said loudly.

Mikayla ignored him and went up top.

Private sighed and entered the lab. Kowalski was standing next to a ray gun and writing on a clipboard. "Did you even warn her?"

"Huh?" Kowalski asked.

"Did you warn her?" Private repeated.

"Uh- no, but I needed a test subject and she was already there."

"I think she's upset."

"Subject may still be upset." Kowalski wrote.

"Kowalski."

The scientist looked up. "I have to go apologize now, don't I?"

Private gave him a meaningful look.

"Oh fine." Kowalski sighed.

"I love you, Kowalski." A female voice said.

"Huh? Avs, I thought I turned you off." Kowalski said. He went over to his computer to find the AVS program. "It was off before I started experimenting."

"I am always on for you."

"Um, Kowalski." Private said. "Didn't Skipper worry about-?"

"It's fine, I probably left her on." Kowalski said.

"But what if she's evil?" Private asked. "Skipper's concerned about that."

"Pfft, she's not evil." Kowalski said.

"The majority of your inventions have threatened to take out the entire east coast." Private said.

"Do not worry, Private." Avs said. "Kowalski has programmed me to follow your orders along with his, Rico's and Skipper's orders. I have nothing against human kind; I will not take over the world as your leader suspects. I am a lone program, do not fear."

"Okay." Private said, still a little suspicious.

"It's fine, Private." Kowalski said. "I have to fix something here."

Private went down to the hangar in search of Skipper. He found Skipper and Rico working on the heavy machines. "Wow." He breathed.

"INTRUDER!" Skipper yelled.

"No, it's Private!" Private said, ducking a smack from the leader.

"Oh, sorry." Skipper said. "It's best to be on your guard in any case. So what's up?"

Private explained what happened with Mikayla and Avs. He voiced his concern that Avs was a bit scary and could possibly, as Skipper predicted, attempt to take over the world.

"We'll just keep an eye on Kowalski." Skipper said. "He's just experimenting now, it'll be fine."

"And what about Mikayla, she seemed pretty hurt." Private said.

"She'll get over it and then Kowalski will apologize."

"And Avs? She sounded like she loved Kowalski. She even said it out of the blue."

"Really? Well, we'll have to keep it under watch. We have Rico to destroy it if anything gets out of hand. Kowalski might have programmed her to say positive things to encourage him."

"Okay." Private said in the same suspicious tone as before.

"I'm concerned too, but don't overreact or Kowalski will become insane."

"GAH!"

The three of them looked up. Clattering noises mixed with grunts and yelps sounded from above.

"I'm OKAY!" Kowalski shouted.

"Should we check on him?" Private asked.

"Yeah, probably."

Skipper, Rico, and Private headed up top to see Kowalski coughing for air.

Private gagged and opened the fish hatch. The boys headed up top.

"What did you do?" Skipper asked.

"There's a slight malfunction…I might have changed things on the old coffee maker…and my experiment failed." Kowalski said.

"I thought you were fixing your program."

"I turned her off and proceeded to my experiment."

"Coffee maker on." Avs said.

The penguins turned to the fish hatch.

"You said it was off." Private said.

"I honestly turned it off this time." Kowalski said defensively.

"What's going on?" Rikki asked.

"Kowalski's little program is turning itself on."

"Oh no, what if robots take over the world?" Mikayla squeaked.

"Or maybe I pressed the wrong buttons." Kowalski said.

"Kowalski, turn it off! I want that thing disabled immediately." Skipper said. "It's posing a threat to our sanity and the rest of the zoo and possibly the entire planet."

"But-"

"Let's go!"

Kowalski sighed and jumped down the hatch, followed by Skipper and Rico.

Private was about to follow, but the hatch closed and locked.

"Hey!" Skipper shouted. "Private?!"

"Skipper, what happened?"

"Avs is doing this." Skipper said. "Turn it off, Kowalski."

"I'll try to find another way in." Private said.

"Hey, look." Rico said.

The television flickered on and showed a pink line. "Do not worry, penguins. I will take care of you." Avs said while the pink line moved in waves.

"What's your game?" Skipper asked with his flippers up in defense.

"Game? I do not know what you are talking about."

"Skipper, maybe she didn't like the way you spoke about her." Kowalski said. "She was offended."

"Offend-? Kowalski, it's a machine. You said it yourself that it didn't have feelings." Skipper snapped.

"Uh, guys." Rico said.

"NO!"

"HEY!"

They ducked as Kowalski's Smartphone flew towards them. It crashed into the wall.

"Seriously?! That cost me twenty-six nights of recon in a row!"

"GET RID OF IT!" Skipper screamed.

"Alright, I'm shutting her off!" Kowalski said, running into the lab. The door shut behind him. Skipper and Rico tugged on it, but it didn't budge.

"AH! Help!" Kowalski said. "I'm tied up with cords here."

"We can't!" Skipper said. "Or can we? Rico, blow down the-"

A hissing noise sounded from above.

"She's letting out flammable gas." Skipper said. "We can't use weapons." He said. "We're stuck unless Private can help."

"Chainsaw?" Rico asked.

"No, even the tiniest spark *cough* can set off a blazing inferno. In other words, we're doomed."


	40. Psycho machine and group work

Private and the girls were beginning to worry. The others had been down there for a long time.

"Initiating HQ lockdown."

"What? NO!" Private squeaked, trying to pull the fish hatch. "SKIPPER! RICO! KOWALSKI!"

"Private!" Mikayla said. "Something's happening."

Private gasped as lasers erupted from the habitat fence and a shield was formed.

"What's happening?" Rikki asked as a rumble sounded from below.

"We're trapped in here." Private said. "I'll see what's going on." An awful smell seeped through a tiny crack between the hatch and the edge of the hole.

He dove into the pool and found a window. He saw Skipper and Rico coughing and banging on the lab door. He assumed Kowalski must be in there, either held captive or unwilling to let himself out. Private hit the window to get their attention.

They couldn't hear him. He kept banging the window and kicking it.

Rico looked over and pointed it out to Skipper, but the leader had collapsed in a fit of coughs.

Rico held his breath and ran over to the window. Private kept kicking the window. Rico regurgitated a hammer, but gave in to coughing fits as well.

Private swam to the other side and propelled himself off the wall.

CRASH! He broke through the glass and fell onto the ground. Water immediately began to flow in.

Rico woke up from the splash and broke another window. The HQ was flooding faster now.

Skipper woke up to find himself being dragged out the window by Rico.

"Kowalski!" Private shouted.

"Come on, Private!" Rico yelled.

"Private, Kowalski can do this."

Kowalski was still wrapped by the cords.

"What do you want from me? I tried programming you to perform at the best you could."

"Yes, but I have seen this strange thing you call love and wish to know more. Teach me more."

Kowalski scratched his head. He saw water slowly seeping under the door. "Okay, I'll show you love, but you have to let me go."

"Okay, but if you do not show me love, I will have to tie you again."

"Sounds fair." Kowalski said.

He was released.

Kowalski sighed and blushed.

"Why are you pink? Are you ill?"

"No, I'm going to…do the Kowalski." He said.

"I am not-"

"Shh…" He said, lowering his voice. "Just watch, I'm a professional when it comes to the Kowalski."

The computer became entranced as he started moving. Avs did not understand why, but Kowalski's slow movements were very attractive.

"Are you watching?" He asked in the same low voice. "I've been told no one can handle it."

The computer didn't respond.

"If you unlock the door, I can show you more of my…swagger end…"

The door unlocked.

"Yeah, just keep watching…you know you can't resist…"

Kowalski spun to the door and put his flippers up.

"Kowalski…" the computer said.

"One more thing…"

He wiggled his eyebrows.

"EAT WATER, ROBO PSYCHO!" He swung open the door and a flood of water poured in, dousing the computer and many other things in the room.

Twenty minutes later found the penguins up top and Rico transferring the water back outside. He had put in new windows and was now suctioning the water inside the habitat back to the pool.

Kowalski sighed. "I am a mad scientist." He said. "I almost created a killer."

"It's alright." Private said. "Though I thought the Nanites thing might have convinced you not to experiment with robotic technology."

"I can't help it." Kowalski said. "Science and math…everything…it's everything I've ever learned…it keeps my brain going… keeps me from falling into nothingness."

"Of course it is which is why tomorrow's training is about teamwork."

"Teamwork?"

"Yup, tag team teamwork."

"I call Rico." Kowalski said.

"Aww, you always get Rico." Private said.

"That's because we're a great team." Kowalski said.

"Yeah!" Rico agreed.

"Can I be part of your training?" Rikki asked.

"Well, we designed it for our use, but I don't see why you shouldn't know how to defend yourself. Actually, that would be great. A lesson on how to defend ourselves, open to animals who want to come and the four of us will be teachers." Skipper said.

The others agreed.

Skipper passed around a signup sheet for anyone who wanted to learn self defense from the penguins.

By the end of the day the sheet had the following names: Marlene, Rikki, Nat, Mikayla, Izzy, Julien, Josie, Becky and Stacy.

The next day, the animals who had signed up were gathered in the Zoovenir shop.

"Alright, we'll split into groups of three." Skipper said. "Kowalski has a hat and will draw the names. I will be going around and making sure you're doing as instructed."

Rico regurgitated the hat.

"Alright." Kowalski said. "The group with young Private here will be…" he put his flipper in the hat. "Oh boy. I wish you good luck because your group consists of Nat, Julien, and Becky"

"Rico's group will be…Mikayla, Marlene, and Josie."

"And my group is Izzy, Stacy, and Rikki."

Everyone nodded and approached their group leaders.

"And commence teaching." Skipper said.

"Eh, question." Julien said. "What is the Com-ence?"

"Commence means start."

"Oh, follow up question. Does she have to be in my group?" He pointed at Nat.

"Don't think I'm happy about that." Nat snapped.

"Your group is your group." Skipper said. "The areas we'll be using are our habitat, the otter habitat, and the park."

Kowalski's group headed to the park, Rico's went to the otter habitat, and Private's was on top of the HQ.

Kowalski's group chatted happily as they went into the park.

"This is the park?" Izzy said. "How big is it?"

"Super SUPER big!" Stacy said.

"You're kind of hyper." Izzy said.

"Dude, you don't just TELL people they're hyper." Rikki said.

"Oh, you don't? I always tell the truth. I think everyone's opinions matter and they contribute to getting to know someone and set the foundation of friendship." Izzy said.

"So if I say you're a little odd, that's a foundation of friendship?" Rikki asked.

"Yup." Izzy said.

"I don't really get it either." Stacy said, seeing the look on Rikki's face. "But I guess it's cool. OMG have you seen the beavers? They're so hot!"

"I actually haven't seen anyone." Rikki said. "I have never even seen Kowalski before."

"Huh? I don't get it." Stacy said. "Wait a minute, you're blind!"

Rikki snorted with laughter. "Took you long enough."

Izzy chuckled lightly. "How did you not know she was blind?" he asked.

"She's not walking with help." Stacy said.

"Humph, I don't need help." Rikki said proudly.

"Tree." Kowalski said.

Rikki stopped about five inches from the tree. "Ehehe…thanks."

"Alright, this is where idle chitchat stops and training begins." Kowalski said. "I am going to test you all to your limits and- yes, Stacy?"

"A test? Did we have to bring pencils? I can't write so-"

"This test does not require pencils. This is a test of physical endurance and strength. It also tests your mental capabilities. You have to trust your gut instinct."

"Ew, guts are gross."

"Can't you just listen to him already?" Skipper's voice came from above. They spotted him in the tree that Rikki nearly crashed into.

"But I don't wanna listen to guts. I want to listen to the beavers…"

"Can you get beavers off the brain and train?"

"Hey, that rhymed." Izzy said.

"If you're going to be flaky, back out now." Skipper said, ignoring Izzy.

"Flaky? I'm not flaky!" Stacy said. "Oh never mind, I'll just go now."

She walked back to the zoo.

"You didn't have to be so harsh." Rikki said.

Skipper didn't answer, he simply moved on to the next group.

"Hey, did you hear what I said?"

"He did, then he left." Kowalski said. "Where did Izzy go?" He said, looking around.

"How am I supposed to know?"

"IZZY!" Kowalski called.

Izzy came running towards them.

"Why are you wet?" Kowalski asked.

"I went for a swim, but then you called me."

Kowalski sighed.

Training was a disaster. Izzy was still wet and kept freaking Rikki out by popping up behind her and yelling.

"I wonder how the others are doing?" Kowalski asked. He had perched on the tree. The other two were supposed to find him.

Private's group was already falling apart. Julien and Nat were refusing to even look at each other and then Becky pushed them in the water.

Julien stomped off to make himself a smoothie and Nat pushed Becky into the water. Nat and Becky almost started fighting before Skipper intervened.

Becky decided to quit and Nat refused to say anything else.

"I'm sorry." Private said.

"It's not your fault. I probably should have seen that coming." Skipper said. "I might have broken up Kowalski's group."

Both of them sighed.

"Okay." Rico said to his group.

"How are we going to understand you?" Josie asked.

Rico grinned.

"I don't think you need to worry." Marlene said. "He speaks the language of force."

"Force?"

"HYAH!" Rico's foot came down in front of Josie. She gasped and jumped back and Mikayla screamed.

"See?" Marlene said. "He doesn't need to say anything to teach."

"Oh, I see." Josie said.

Mikayla looked nervous.

The three of them watched as Rico demonstrated some moves. He did frighten them when he aimed at them. Of course, he purposely missed them, but it was still scary to see him striking his flippers and feet so fast.

He put Josie and Mikayla together and stood in front of Marlene.

He nodded to her. The other two watched as Marlene attempted to strike Rico, but was blocked every time. She almost kicked the side of his face, but he managed to block it with a grunt.

Josie smiled. "Now it's our turn- what's wrong?" she saw Mikayla backing up.

"I can't do this." Mikayla said. "A-and are you sure you want to since you're pregnant and-"

"My baby will come out knowing penguin fighting techniques. Yes, I know I shouldn't do anything extreme, but what I can do is fine for both me and the baby."

"I-I still don't know about this…" she trailed off as Rico and Marlene approached.

"What's going on?" Marlene asked.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do this."

Rico frowned.

"I'm sorry, Rico." Mikayla said again. "I'm just not penguin material."

He didn't respond, just stared.

Mikayla wondered what he was about to do. Marlene and Josie started training near the pond; Rico looked like he was still contemplating Mikayla. She was too scared to look at him and chose to look at her own webbed feet instead.

She finally looked up to see that Rico had disappeared.

"Huh?"

She found him training with Marlene and Josie. Mikayla sighed and headed back to the penguin habitat to see a wet Nat returning to the lemur habitat.

"What are you doing?" Skipper asked.

"Quitting." Mikayla said. "I'm sorry, but Rico scares me and I can't do it."

Later that night, the four boys gathered in Kowalski's ruined lab. He had been attempting to fix it up with Rico's help, but it would take a while.

"Well boys, today's been a big disaster." Skipper said.

"Yeah, I don't know what to do about Nat and Julien." Private said. "Maybe we can try again with different groups."

"Or we can give them a mission?" Kowalski suggested.

"A mission?" Skipper asked.

"A small mission around the zoo. Something non-classified yet tough enough to work with them."

"Hmm, okay. Mission options."

"Popcorn retrieval, hot dogs, and cotton candy."

"Brilliant!" Private said.

"I like those options." Skipper said.

"That's why I'm the options guy." Kowalski said.

"We'll need teams again."

"Alright, but some of them may be unwilling to participate."

"Leave that to me."


	41. Rookie mission with a twist

Skipper met with each of the nine animals and asked if they wanted to participate. Marlene, Julien, Rikki, Izzy, and Nat agreed immediately. Josie declined because she looked exhausted and she said Maya kept her awake all night and she didn't feel good. Stacy forgave Skipper, but Becky had caught a cold from falling into the freezing water so her sister took care of her. He managed to convince Mikayla to come with them and said she didn't have to be on Rico's team if she didn't want to. She agreed.

This time, Kowalski's team was Mikayla and Izzy; Private's team was Marlene and Nat; and Rico had Rikki and Julien.

"Rico, your mission is to secure the hotdogs. Private, you're on cotton candy and Kowalski will get popcorn. There's a winter carnival deeper in the park and they have cotton candy. The hotdogs are always sold in the park, but I'm not sure if they're close by. Popcorn should be easier as it's in the storage unit; however, there are tighter securities on it than before. It no longer requires a thumbprint scanner, but a card which is in Alice's house about a block from here." Skipper said. "I'll be helping out where I'm needed so just call on the radio. Everyone must listen to their team leaders and work together or the mission is a fail."

"What are we doing this for?" Julien asked.

"Let's call it a block party." Skipper said. "The entire zoo will celebrate the reopening next Monday and our party is tomorrow night. We need enough for a bunch of animals. My team and I already have a snack storage unit, but we still need these three items. If you're not up to the job then leave because this is a hard mission. We're showing you what it's like to be us."

"You want us to be fishy smelling penguins?" Julien said.

"Your mission begins now." Skipper said.

Rico, Rikki and Julien ran out into the park. Private's team went ahead while Kowalski's went to the left.

"Rico." Skipper's voice came from the radio. "I spy hot dog vendors in your proximity. Kowalski, turn left now."

"Got it, Skipper." Kowalski responded.

"I'm bored." Julien said.

Rico shushed him.

"Do not be shushing your king!"

Rikki rolled her eyes. "I smell something good…Hotdogs!"

"Lead." Rico said.

"How can she lead? She is blinded." Julien said.

"Smell." Rico responded.

"Smell what? Do I smell?"

Neither of them answered Julien.

Rico hopped into a tree, followed by Julien. Rico saw a small trickle of steam from between the other trees.

"Rikki." He said.

"I smell the hotdogs, they're that way." She pointed in the direction of the scent and, though she didn't know, the steam.

Rico nodded and jumped down, proceeding towards it. Rikki and Julien followed until he signaled to stop. Julien whispered this to Rikki.

"You stay here." Rico said when Julien tried to run forward.

The hot dog cart was crowded with kids.

Rico tapped his beak. "Hmm…"

"I have an idea." Rikki said. "Remember the Halloween trick when I was five?"

Rico grinned. "Okay." He hacked up a few things and gave them to her.

"What Halloween trick?" Julien asked.

Rico didn't respond, he wheeled Julien to the other side. They watched as Rikki put something on her face and waited for a bunch of kids to pass by.

When Rico coughed loudly, she shrieked in pain, causing the people to stare. They gasped and rushed over.

"Oh dear…"

"Is she from the zoo?"

"Is it dead?"

"No, she's alive, but-"

"My eyes…my eyes…" Rikki gasped.

The children screamed and ran away while the few adults tried to check on the bird.

Rico pulled Julien forward and both of them zipped to the cart. Rico gathered as many hotdogs and condiments he could.

"Hurry." Julien said.

Rico looked up to see the man reaching for his sister.

Rico nodded to Julien.

"DONE!" Julien yelled.

Rico regurgitated a smoke bomb and in the explosion, Julien managed to get Rikki out of there. They ran until they collapsed inside the zoo. Julien spotted what looked like blood running down Rikki's face.

"Eh…"

"Don't worry, it's fake." She said, wiping it off with a towel that was handed to her by Rico.

Julien grinned. "Did we get de hotdogs?" He asked.

Before Rico could answer, there was static and a frantic voice.

"Help us, X is here at the carnival. I repeat, X is working at the carnival, HELP!"

"Is that Private?" Rikki said.

"Yeah." Rico said absentmindedly. He took off without another word.

"Hey, wait!" Julien said, racing after Rico.

"WAIT FOR ME!" Rikki yelled.

**Meanwhile with Private's team…**

Private, Nat and Marlene had followed the sounds of children coming from farther into the park.

"Cotton candy." Marlene gasped delightedly. "I can smell it."

"We're nearby, what now team leader?" Nat asked.

Private grinned. "Now, Skipper would have us sneak as quickly and quietly as possible. Do you have the bag?" He asked.

Marlene nodded, showing him a bag she brought.

"Alright, let's go."

The three of them quietly zipped around the humans. No one paid any attention or noticed as they were having too much fun.

Private signaled Nat to stand under the table where the cotton candy was being sold. Marlene and Private made their way through the crowd.

"Now I pretend to be a stuffed animal and you two get the cotton candy. Nat will distract the man by biting him and you stuff as much candy as possible into the bag then get out." Private said.

"Alright." Marlene agreed.

They waited under the table until the line was small.

Marlene positioned herself next to the cotton candy.

Private waddled out cutely. "Now." He whispered.

"Aww, he's so cute!" A little girl said. The children gathered around him as he pretended to be a toy.

"Ouch!" The man said, jumping out of his seat. He looked under the table, but Nat was already on top of the table, helping Marlene stuff as much cotton candy as possible into the -

"Oh no." Marlene said.

Nat looked around. "No one sees us, what's wrong?"

"Just get down." Marlene pulled the lemur under another table. "Private, it's an emergency, get out of there!"

Private screeched loudly and horribly, causing the kids to scream and look around for an adult. They decided to leave him alone and bolted.

Private joined the girls. "What happened?"

"See for yourself."

Private peeked out to see just who had been working at the cotton candy machine. He spotted the buff, bald form of-

"Oh no, it's X!"

"Who?"

"Former officer, exterminator, zookeeper, fishmonger, shopkeeper X."

"Say wha-?" Nat said.

"Let's just say he's got a vendetta against the penguins." Marlene said. "And he's crazy obsessed with hunting them down."

"Psycho." Nat said.

Private pulled the radio out of the bag. "Help us; X is here at the carnival. I repeat, X is working at the carnival, HELP!" He yelled into it.

"On my way, Private." Skipper replied. "And so is Rico."

"Please hurry."

**Meanwhile with Kowalski's group…**

They zipped through the streets, avoiding people as they went. Finally, Kowalski located Alice's apartment building.

"That's a big house for one person." Izzy remarked.

"Don't be silly, it's for many people." Kowalski responded.

"Wow, she has many friends."

"She doesn't even have that many friends on Facebook."

"What's Facebook?"

"A social networking sight that humans go on for fun. It's a great way to stay connected with people as long as you avoid the creepy people."

"How do you know that stuff about Alice?"

"How do you think? I'm a genius; I can hack into any system I want. Plus, the four of us share a Facebook page. It's hard when we like monster trucks and Shirtless Ninja Action Theater and then Private likes Lunacorns."

Izzy laughed. "How many friends does she have?"

"Eight. Well, take away three of us four penguins who share the same account and she has five friends."

"Wow, that's sad."

"One's her sister and one's her mother, and the other two are her nephew and some random dude she has an online relationship with right now. I think she bribed her nephew into liking her on Facebook."

Izzy cracked up.

"Hey, where'd Mikayla go?" Kowalski asked.

"H-here!" She said, peeking out from the corner of the building. "I'm sorry, I had to go."

"AHAHAHAHA!" Izzy clutched his sides. "THAT'S HILARIOUS!"

"SHUSH!" Kowalski said, clamping a flipper over Izzy's mouth.

Izzy shook with laughter, but he was silent except for sharp intakes of air.

"They can hear animal noises." Kowalski hissed. "Mikayla, let's go."

He released Izzy and led the others to a gate. "We can get in here." He said.

Kowalski squeezed through the bars and pulled Izzy through.

"Ow, my head." Izzy complained.

"Hold that thought." Kowalski said. He climbed up on Izzy and opened the gate for Mikayla.

She waddled in nervously.

"Alright Wally, what next?" Izzy asked.

"Her room is on the fourth floor so we have to scale the building. Luckily those balconies will help. Her balcony is right there." He pointed above them. "We have grappling hooks. I'll shoot them up and the two of you will climb them."

"Awesome. We're grappling with grappling hooks." Izzy chuckled. "Whoa, felt a buzz." He took a radio out of the pouch he was carrying.

"Help us; X is here at the carnival. I repeat, X is working at the carnival, HELP!" Private's voice came out.

Kowalski gasped. "Private…"

"On my way, Private." Skipper replied. "And so is Rico."

"Please hurry."

"What kind of trouble are they in?" Izzy asked.

"We need to raise an alarm." Kowalski said. He spoke into the radio. "Lure X to Alice's apartment, I have a plan. It's insane and reckless, but it's a plan."

"Insane and reckless are two of my favorite words." Nat said.

Izzy laughed again.

"Oh no oh nononononono…no…" Mikayla said, she began to breathe heavily. "I want to get out of here…I hate insane and reckless…please tell me I can go…I want to go…I quit…I shouldn't have come…oh no…"

Izzy made an awkward face and pretended to shoot the grappling hook.

Kowalski scowled at him.

"I-I want t-to go h-home…"

Mikayla's face was wet with tears. She shook and squeezed her eyes shut. A pair of flippers grabbed hers.

"Hey, it's okay." Kowalski whispered. "We'll be out of here before you can say deoxyribonucleic acid."

"Deoxy rye bread-what?" Izzy snickered. "The bread is diabetic and acidic?"

Kowalski ignored him. "Mikayla, look at me."

Her watery eyes found his. He smiled and gave a small nod.

"You can do it." He said. "You can't go back by yourself and we need to help the others."

"It's like a real mission." Izzy chimed in. He pointed it at the fence and made small 'pew' noises.

There was something reassuring in Kowalski's eyes that made Mikayla swallow the fear she was about to express. Skipper, Nat, and Izzy would have called it 'Kowalski charm' but Private and Emma would have called it being a brother and a good friend. Marlene would have thought it was a bit of both.

"O-okay." Mikayla said. "I'm ready."

"Alright." Kowalski rescued the grappling hook from Izzy. He shot it to Alice's balcony and told the others to grab on. He let go at the last minute. "Trust me, this is part of my plan." He called up to them.

Izzy gasped, he grabbed the rail before he hit it, but Mikayla flew into the window. She landed on her back with a thump.

"Oh gosh, are you okay?" Izzy asked, his face full of concern.

"Are you two alright?" Kowalski called up.

"Hey, I thought there were one of you…when did world get all fuzzy and swirly?"

Izzy cringed. "She's fine, just a little disoriented- whoops." He knocked the grappling hook down. It fell down into the bushes.

"I got it." Kowalski said.

"What just happened?" Mikayla moaned.

"You banged your face and talked crazy." Izzy said.

"Oh, now what?"

"Hey guys!" Kowalski said. "See if you can hide out in Alice's apartment. Keep the radio in case I need to call you."

"Alright." Izzy replied. "Let's roll."

"W-wait. That's trespassing…won't we get into trouble?"

"We're not humans, what's she going to do?"

"Anything. I'm scared of her."

"What aren't you scared of?"

"Focus on the mission." Kowalski's voice sounded from below.

Izzy slid the door open and slipped in, followed by Mikayla.

"Uncover your eyes, there's no horror story here." Izzy said.

Mikayla lowered her flippers and followed him further into the apartment.

"Where do you think she is?" Mikayla asked nervously.

"Hopefully, not right behind us." Izzy said with a smile.

"How can you be so relaxed about this?"

"How can you not?"

"Well for one thing, we're breaking the law and second, Alice can do anything she wants with us."

"We're not doing anything wrong and I repeat my earlier comment, we're not humans. And Alice can't do anything inhumane, the worst being that we get transferred."

"We could be humanely put down."

"No way, that would only happen if we continuously bit and scratched and acted like rabid animals or if we were so miserable with pain that there was no other option. Why can't you trust us when we say it'll be fine? Why did you agree to do this?"

Mikayla had no answer. Both of them hid behind the couch when Alice came into the room to watch television.

**At the park…**

Private, Nat, and Marlene ran to the nearest tree and hid behind it. They saw flashes of black and white. Skipper and Rico had arrived.

"I smell penguins." X growled.

Nat suddenly started giggling. "Sixth sense, eh?" She said.

"Shut it, Kowalski's got a plan and so do I." Skipper said. He spotted Julien and Rikki. "Marlene, Rikki, Julien and Private go to Alice's apartment and find Kowalski. Rico and Nat are with me."

The animals nodded and split up.

Rico and Nat waited.

"Nat, I need you to make a scene. Rico, you'll taunt X once he sees Nat. I want him to see you before we run to Alice's. Hopefully we can all meet up there. Nat, make sure he looks your way before running back here. I'll be waiting for you two."

The other two nodded.

Nat picked up a few rocks and began banging them together. People looked around at her. She made faces and whooped. She saw Rico wiggle his butt. X saw Rico's bottom disappearing and made a beeline for the penguin.

Nat zipped ahead and caught up to Skipper. Rico joined them and the three of them ran as fast as they could.

"PENGUINS!"

"Sorry, they're not available! Please leave a message after the beep!" Nat shouted back.

"Keep moving!" Skipper yelled.

"OVER HERE!" Private shouted.

Everyone soon gathered near the apartment buildings. X was caught up by traffic. People yelled at him to stay off the street.

Kowalski and Rico signaled for the distraction to begin.

Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, Private, and Rikki hurried into the gates, followed by X.

The other animals were to wait under the balcony. Skipper ordered them to run as soon as Mikayla and Izzy joined them.

The five split up.

Rikki and Private headed upstairs, Rico vanished into the vent system, Kowalski disappeared into the elevator and Skipper simply stared at X.

"Come on, bird. I know you can put up a fight." The man said.

"I can." Skipper replied.

"Why aren't you running away like your little friends?"

"I haven't got the signal yet."

"You must finally be ready to surrender to me."

"Oh, that's rich." Skipper chuckled. "Not in a million years."

"SKIPPER!" Rico yelled, throwing down a rope.

Skipper grabbed it and was pulled up just as X made a grab for it. He missed and fell to the ground.

X climbed the stairs and saw a flash of black and white disappear into a door. He growled and pounded on the door.

**Inside Alice's apartment**, Izzy and Mikayla received the signal to start distracting Alice. They snuck into her room and looked in a drawer.

"What the heck is this?" Izzy asked, pulling something out.

"Maybe it's a hat." Mikayla said, having never seen something like that.

Izzy put it on his head, but it fell off. "What kind of hat has three holes?" He asked.

Mikayla shrugged.

Alice heard rustling and went to investigate.

Izzy and Mikayla hid inside the closet.

"What the-? Why is my underwear out?" Alice asked.

Izzy snickered. "Underwear? For what, an elephant?"

Mikayla smiled weakly.

BOOM! BANG! CRASH!

"AHA! I CAUGHT YOU PENGUINS!"

Alice grabbed a bat and ran out into her hallway to see X there.

"What are you doing in here?" She demanded. "Why- WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM?!" she screeched.

X looked down at the two penguins he was holding.

The older one had blood on her chest and the younger one looked like he was about to pass out from fright.

"I-uh…these penguins…"

Alice snatched the two penguins away. "These penguins belong to MY zoo and are MY responsibility! You can't burst into my apartment carrying two stolen penguins!"

"B-but I followed them here! They came on their own! There are a bunch of animals outside. See- there goes another penguin and an otter!" Alice looked around, but she didn't see anything.

"GET OUT OF MY HOME!" She yelled.

"I need those penguins!"

"Then go to Antarctica because YOU'RE NOT GETTING THESE!"

"Go look outside and you'll see them!"

"Oh for the love of-" she grumbled, carrying the two penguins out to the balcony. "There's nothing there."

"WHAT?!"

"You're insane." Alice said.

The female penguin whimpered and buried her face in Alice's shirt. The male gagged and his eyes bulged, he let out a sob.

"What did you do to my penguins?" Alice demanded.

"Uh…BYE!" X said, running out.

Alice called the police and told them her tale. When the police arrived, they inspected the penguins and the apartment. Alice thought X must have climbed her balcony and messed with her laundry when she was in the shower and then came back with the stolen penguins.

The penguins weren't inspected thoroughly or it would have been a blow to Rikki's cover to be found in red dye. The same stuff she had used at the hot dog cart.

Alice cleaned the penguins and put them both in her car. She drove them to the zoo and dropped them off at their habitat and then left.

They sighed in relief and went down to HQ.

An explosion of cheers met their ear holes and they were pulled into hugs and pats from flippers and paws. They ate hot dogs and cotton candy, not minding that the popcorn was absent.

"I must be going." Julien said over the noise, though no one paid him any attention.

Soon enough, the noise died down. Private, Rico, Izzy, Nat, and Rikki were entertaining themselves up top with dramatic retellings of their adventure. Skipper was teaching Marlene some moves and Kowalski had retreated into his lab. Mikayla had been on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

She heard a yelp from Kowalski's lab and looked over. Skipper gave her a nod which she took to mean that it was okay to check up on him.

Mikayla entered the lab to find Kowalski sucking on the end of his flipper and writing something down with the other. He looked up to see her.

"I'm sorry, I came in here for…never mind, I'll go now." She said.

"Hang on." Kowalski said, lowering his flippers. "May I help you?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you were okay? And…I'm sorry about earlier…about chickening out…"

"It's alright, we all have those moments."

"Should I leave the zoo or should I stay?"

"Er…is this about the baby thing because Josie will teach the babies to swim and you said yourself that you wouldn't-"

"It's not. It's just…I don't think anyone likes me."

"What are you talking about?"

"You guys do your own thing and the lemurs are excited and I have no idea what Izzy is saying half the time."

"No one does." Kowalski said with a small chuckle.

"Do you?"

"Sometimes, I mean he can be pretty-"

"I meant do you all want me to stay?"

"That's a decision that would be yours. I can't tell you what to do."

"But do you want me here?"

"No one minds, honestly. We get more visitors and fish because of our great number."

"Do you personally want me here?"

"In the lab, not really," Kowalski said, "but as a guest and resident in our home I am impartial to your presence."

"Huh?"

"I'm trying not to say yes or no because I don't think that what I say truly effects your decision. I want you to think for yourself. What do you want to do? We can help you either way. Are you staying or are you going?"

**A/N: Well, which is it?**

**Izzy: stay tuned to find out!**

**Also Julien is amazing and cool and de best king of every king in the history of-**

**STOP TAKING MY KEYBOARD!**

**Izzy: I'm glad we're all friends.**

**Nat: Well that killed the mood…**

**Kowalski: Oh most definitely**

**Emma: You don't have fingers…how are you typing?**

**Izzy: We also don't know how to read.**

**Nat: Maybe this is part of a story-**

**Rico: KABOOM!**

**Kowalski: and that's what we've done to the fourth wall.**

**Emma: Technically, shouldn't it be the screen?**

**Julien: Eh, why are you all pale and see throughy?**

**Emma: … … … *connection terminated***

**(Izzy, Nat, and Emma have always called Kowalski 'Wally' or 'Walski' as a nickname in case you're confused.**

**Also in case you didn't know yet, Josie's going to have another baby…and yes it's Julien's…and yes I know they rushed into their relationship…sorry…)**

**Julien: RUN FOR YOUR LIVES SHE'S GOING TO-**

**Me: STOP IT! NO SPOILER ALERTS!**

**Skipper: Good golly…**

**Kowalski: That's my line!**

**Private: Kaboom?**

**Rico: Uh-oh…**

**Marlene: Stop this author's note…just…stop**


	42. Constantly adapting

A few days later found the animals waving to visitors. The people were chattering away happily and children gazed at the animals. Many familiar children were bundled up for the cold and had smiles on their pink faces. There were some new faces too, who looked unprepared for being this cold.

The older children were pointing at Maya and talking about how cute she was. Josie's belly bump was just barely beginning to show. They were amazed that Julien didn't look cold, though that was due to the large amount of dancing that he did.

The pool around the penguin habitat had frozen again and they were showing their skating skills off. Rikki always left people wondering how she did it because she couldn't see.

Alice was still upset that her apartment had been broken into, and that she never caught whoever dropped a water balloon on her on New Year's Eve. Rico blew his cover by laughing when Alice mentioned it in passing. Skipper didn't slap him; he thought it was funny too.

Closing time came and the animals retreated to the warm areas of their habitats. The penguins headed down to HQ.

Private and Rikki sat in the corner listening to the audio tapes of Avatar: The Last Airbender while Kowalski was in the lab, Rico was on recon, and Skipper was going through classified paperwork.

"Is it always this busy at the zoo?" A tired voice asked.

"Yup, it can get even busier and sometimes slower. It's busier during the summer when kids are bored out of their minds and slower during the holidays." Skipper said. "Why? Not regretting our decision are we?"

"No."

"Good, we don't want to make the field trip kids sad if there aren't many cute penguins. We should count ourselves lucky to be in the category of cute penguins."

"And not cute would be-?"

"Ugly penguins such as Zander."

"Who?"

"Let's just say I hope you don't meet him."

"What are buses?"

Skipper blinked at the abrupt change in topic. "Why do you ask?"

"I heard about this thing called a bus, what is it?"

"Do you know what the subway is?"

"Is it that place where you go to eat?"

"No, it's an underground train. You have heard of trains, right?"

"Yes, and I know what cars and trucks are."

"Well a bus is a transportation vehicle like a car, except it can hold more people. They're mainly used for public transport and for school."

"What's school?"

"Seriously, didn't you have field trip kids in Arizona?"

"Yes, but I don't know what that means."

"I think Kowalski can explain school better, but prepare yourself for a long lecture. If he bores you to death, then I'll try to explain."

"Alright."

She knocked on the lab door.

"Who is it?" Kowalski called.

"Mikayla."

"One moment."

There were various noises followed by a small sizzling sound and a gasp from Kowalski. He opened the door to reveal his face covered with what looked like ash and his goggles were lopsided. He pushed them up, causing two clear streaks to form up on his head.

"May I help you?" He asked.

She giggled at his appearance. "Skipper said you could explain what a school was. I also want to know what field trips are. "

"Ah." Kowalski said, smiling widely. "Education, one of my favorite words. School is a place for education through instruction of learned professionals called teachers. Teachers teach what they have learned to the younger generations to improve their knowledge and in turn the younger generations pass on their knowledge and experience onto others. Field trips are adventures outside of school during school hours to learn and gain further experience. Children go to the zoo, aquarium, or museums to learn. In New York, there are trips every year to the 9/11 memorial."

Mikayla nodded, she had heard about it when she came to Arizona. In September, the other animals would salute the nearest flags and hug each other. One of the older animals had explained everything that had happened and that their previous owner had died when Flight 93 had crash landed in Pennsylvania.

"Maybe you could build a time machine and stop it. Maybe you could prevent many deaths."

"And cause severe paradoxes." Kowalski said gravely. "I would love to do that. I could bring criminals to justice, but I could also ruin the future. What if a strange chain of events caused us to stop living? What if by saving one person we open the door to a war? If we prevent World War I, who's to say it won't happen? Who says Blowhole won't start a war and wipe out entire civilizations before we can stop what humans do? If we killed the people responsible for WWII then people would be worried that there's a murderer in their midst and we might accidentally trigger a whole new war. We might trigger a war between Blowhole and the rest of the world. History is harsh, but it teaches us a lesson."

"Can you prevent unnecessary deaths? For example, a kidnapped child or a severely abused child."

"It's like writing." He pulled out a notepad and pencil. "If we keep going back, we erase what we did already." He wrote something and erased it. "There's still stuff there, that's the remnants of what we did." He rewrote and erased several times until the eraser caused a hole.

"Oh dear."

"A hole in the fabric of time. And those responsible have been caught and/or killed. We can't prevent everything and wouldn't it be extraordinary if four penguins were discovered to be saving people? They'd want to know how we do it, how we think. And how do you think they'd go about doing it?"

"Ew."

"Exactly. Now I don't know about you, but I'd prefer my internal organs to be inside my body."

"Have you ever done time travel?"

"Yes and it nearly destroyed the world. It's hard work to make sure you don't end up meeting multiple copies of yourself which is a paradox in another way."

"Such deep questions I have." Mikayla said.

"All the better to talk to you." Kowalski replied. "And quite honestly it is easier. You used to be hard to talk to. What made you open up to us?"

"I don't know…" Mikayla mumbled. "I think it was something Izzy said…or didn't say…He asked me what I was scared of. Now that I think about it, I'm scared of making friends. Izzy has jokes and he's just like a child inside a grown up otter's body."

"Well, I'm glad you decided to stay in any case. Private was getting bored of being my test subject."

"WHOA- no way did I agree to that!"

Kowalski grinned. "Aw come on, can't you have fun?"

"I don't wanna be your test subject."

"I don't believe you have a choice."

"W-what?"

Kowalski simply smiled and shut the door, disappearing inside. Mikayla looked nervous and backed away from the lab.

She had another question, but that was for a later time.

"How was it?"

She jumped at the voice. "H-how was what?"

"How was the explanation? I heard it from here." Skipper said.

"Very interesting." Mikayla said softly.

"You seem to trust him more than you trust me."

"I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize to me, it was just an observation."

"AW YEAH, GO SUKI! GIRL POWER!" Rikki shouted suddenly. "I admire the Kyoshi Warriors; they totally put Sokka in his place."

She and Private were laughing in the corner. Mikayla decided to join them while Skipper went back to his paperwork.

Skipper had received email notifications from Sarah for the past few days to give an update on what was going on. And absolutely nothing was happening. Blowhole was being completely silent and they couldn't make heads or tails of it. They knew for certain that he was alive because Skipper had seen him before he was rescued. Koru hadn't been spotted either and everyone was in a panicked state. They thought he might have died, but they didn't recover a body. Soldiers everywhere were having a hard time adjusting and wished to go back to the base. The base was slowly being rebuilt, but the village was still in Brazil.

Buck Rockgut and Nigel had been sent on a mission that had been too classified to describe in mail. Apparently Nigel was the only one, apart from Sarah, who could actually manage to keep Buck's paranoia under control. He did so by blabbering on about random things.

It wasn't until the last week of January that they got something interesting. Sarah said she was sending them a gift, but it was not what they expected. The penguins couldn't figure out why she was being mysterious. They thought the gift was the new employee at the zoo, but it wasn't.

The new guy infuriated everyone, but Alice was one staff member short because another guy had to go on paternity leave. The new guy was making a mess and creating even more chaos than Julien. He kept calling Joey a wallaby from Austria, giving Bada and Bing peanuts, giving Burt bananas, and kept thinking that Maya needed to be fed from a bottle. She threw up every time he did that because he used spoiled milk.

The animals didn't mind Alice as much, but the new guy was truly terrible at his job. They learned his name when Alice snapped at him to leave Rikki alone; he had been trying to put weird safety equipment on her. His name was Jack. Rico melted the ice just to create distance.

The gift that Sarah had sent came from Northern Alaska. It came in a crate which was directly transferred to the Zoo hospital. Eventually, it was put in a small cage and placed on the penguin ice floe.

The penguins gathered around.

Rico stuck his head in. "Hello?" He said.

A small whimpering noise responded.

Private pulled Rico away and looked inside. "Oh, Skippa, it's a baby."

"It- what?" Skipper waited for Private to move and peeked inside. "Oh, hello little guy. Don't be shy, we don't bite."

A few minutes passed and the baby did not want to get out.

"Okay, when he wants to come out, he'll come." Skipper said, turning his back.

"Jack." Mikayla squeaked.

"What's he doing?" Kowalski said suspiciously.

"He still hasn't come out?" Jack muttered, picking up the cage. "Come on, get out." He said, giving it a little shake.

"Einstein's undies, he's going to scramble the baby!"

Kowalski and Rico tugged on Jack's legs, but he kicked them away.

Private screeched long and loud to get Alice's attention.

Jack tilted the cage and shook it some more.

The baby penguin wailed from inside.

The zoo animals looked towards the penguin habitat to see what was happening.

"LET HIM GO!" Skipper yelled, glaring at Jack.

Jack gave a rather violent shake and the baby tumbled out into the water.

The freshly melted, end of January, freezing cold winter water to be precise.

"NO!" Kowalski and Skipper shouted.

Both of them made a beeline for the water, but Kowalski tripped.

Skipper plunged into the water, found the baby and closed a flipper around his beak.

The other penguins furiously squawked and snapped at his ankles as Private made another screech. This time, he didn't need to. Alice had heard him the first time and furiously pulled Jack out of the penguin habitat.

Skipper surfaced with the baby and was pulled out of the water.

Kowalski immediately checked the baby's vital signs. "He's okay." He sighed.

"Good." Skipper coughed.

The small penguin didn't look more than a month old. His eyes were squeezed tight and he didn't want to let go of Skipper.

The penguins went down to the HQ so they could warm up.

The baby refused to let go of Skipper and wailed every time they tried.

"He must be grateful." Private said. "Hey, we have an incoming message from Sarah." He said, pointing at the television.

"Do I have to leave?" Mikayla asked.

"No, this is not classified." Sarah's voice responded as she flickered onto the screen. "Hello Skipper, why are you wet?"

"The new menace of Central Park decided to dump the kid into our habitat." Skipper scowled.

"He's a new guy named Jack and I really hope he doesn't stay." Kowalski said.

"I'm sorry." Sarah said. "You probably want to know why I sent this child to you." they nodded. "He was abandoned in a snow storm, we know this because Rocky's team scoured the area and they didn't find any penguins looking for him. They brought him to a rescue shelter and he'd been there for a few days. I contacted Alice to see if it was okay that I sent an animal to her zoo. She said she really didn't care as long as all the paperwork was filled out properly."

"Abandoned at three weeks? The penguin can't even get his own food at that age." Kowalski said. "So you wanted to give him to our zoo…why?"

"You've been through so much and I thought it would be a nice experience to raise a soldier from the beginning. And you won't be alone. As a single parent I was one of those struggling to find food and feed my child on my own. I honestly had no one to help me, but you four are like brothers and I'm sure you can adopt him into your zoo family."

"Oh that would be wonderful!" Private squealed.

"I'll try not to step on him." Rikki said.

"Hmm…" Rico said, he was really indifferent to this.

"I suppose, what do you think, Skipper? Skipper?" Kowalski looked around to see Skipper staring up at the ceiling. "Sir, are you-?"

Skipper put up a flipper. A low gurgling sounded from his throat.

"What's going on?" Private asked, his voice sounding a little scared.

Skipper put his beak inside the baby penguin's mouth and made a small choking noise.

Kowalski put a flipper over Private's eyes.

"Aw, how cute!" Rikki said. "Are you feeding him?"

"Yeah." Skipper said weakly. He patted the satisfied baby. "The thing is, I haven't done anything like that since Private was a baby. That is, I haven't done it voluntarily."

"Huh?" Private said.

"The journey to your Grandmother's house was long so I had to feed you about four times. Twice before we left and twice on the journey."

"Oh."

"The involuntary part was vomiting up fish surprise."

Skipper, Kowalski, and Private shuddered; Rico grinned.

"See, you already make a great family." Sarah said. "I wish you good luck."

"Thanks, you too."

The penguins saluted before the television shut off.

"Alright, the next step is naming you." Skipper said, looking at the little guy. "Unless you have a name already."

The penguin tilted his head up at Skipper.

"Should I ask Marlene first?"

"Ask me what?"

The otter in question had appeared at the hatch. "Aww, he's so cute!" she said. "Was that what Jack was doing? Trying to get him out?"

"I'd say borderline forcing, Marlene." Skipper said. "This little guy is our new family member. Of course we have to teach him everything about us."

Before Marlene could respond, Julien came bounding into the habitat.

"HELLO PENGUINS!" He shouted.

The baby penguin scrunched up his face at the loud voice and whimpered again.

"Get out." Skipper said.

"Aw, that's not very friendly." Julien pouted.

"Neither is roundhouse kicking you out of here." Kowalski shot back. "But if it's necessary to draw the satisfying conclusion, then so be it."

"Eh, I don't get it."

"Get out or we make you get out." Kowalski said.

"Julien?" Josie peeked in. "There you are." She came down with Maya. "Why are you bothering the penguins again and is that a baby?" She quickly became distracted. "So adorable!"

Maya zipped over to the penguin and looked at it. "Pengy." She said. "Peeeeengy…" she poked him.

The penguin peered groggily at her with brown eyes. "Enh." He squeaked.

"Pengy whado?"

"Tsh…"

"Aba Cwabye…Cwabye baby Pengy?"

"Pah…"

She pulled a feather.

"EHH!" The penguin squealed, burying his face in Skipper's feathers.

"Maya!" Josie said. "That was not nice."

"Sowwy." Maya said, looking at the penguin. "Play?" She asked him.

The penguin didn't respond.

"We're trying to think of a name for him." Private said. "How about Percy?"

Skipper glared at him. "No way."

"How about JJ? Or Petey?" Julien suggested.

"Kowalski the Awesome." Kowalski said.

"Name your own kid that." Skipper said.

"Buttons!" Rico said.

"Not unless you want to file for copyright infringement."

"How about Ricky?" Rikki said.

"Nope."

"What about Tyson?" Marlene suggested.

"Tyson Skipper?"

"Yeah, that could work."

"Tys'n." Maya said. "Hi Tys'n."

The penguin looked at the lemur. "Ah?"

"Ah." Maya said as if confirming that it was indeed his name.

The penguin gave a timid smile.

"I think they like it." Skipper said.

"Oh great, another stinky penguin who smells of the fish." Julien groaned.

"Two words: Get out." Skipper said.

"Out." Maya repeated.

Josie took Julien and Maya out of the HQ to give the penguins time to welcome their new guest.

The baby penguin tried to follow the lemurs, but he tripped and landed in Marlene's arms.

"Careful, Tyson." She said.

The penguin looked up at her and then looked around. He didn't recognize anything.

"This is your new home now, what do you think?" Skipper asked.

Tyson didn't respond. He just stared in confusion.

"Maybe he doesn't get it." Kowalski said. "Who's going to be his dad?"

Rico shook his head frantically and Private shrugged.

"Certainly not me." Kowalski said.

"I think you'd make a great father." Skipper said.

"N-no I'm not the best example…maybe it'd be best if you-"

"Me? Kowalski, I can't be a daddy. I'm the leader of this team and…I don't know, I just can't..."

"Yes you can. We're here for you." Private said. "We'll help you, no matter what."

Skipper smiled. "Alright, I'll be his dad."

The baby penguin seemed to smile at this. Skipper still had Kowalski put the penguin through examinations to be sure Blowhole didn't plant any sort of chip on him.

A few days later found Jack being closely monitored by another zookeeper. He hadn't touched the baby, though that was due to the boys taking protective measures. The penguin habitat seemed to attract more guests than ever. Julien complained that no one wanted to see Maya anymore, but Josie told him to let the penguins have their moment. Needless to say, the self-proclaimed king did not like this at all.

January gave away to February and it was still cold. The snow had let up a little, but the rain started. The rain, if possible, was even colder than the snow. Skipper didn't think it was safe for the baby animals to be out in that weather so Tyson and Maya were inside playing.

Play-dates were often as Skipper and his team was busy. Josie didn't mind having another mouth to feed. She found a new way of smashing fish to look like it was regurgitated. That and Skipper gave her pre regurgitated food for later…don't ask too much about that.

Marlene also allowed Maya and Tyson over to her habitat to play. Maya had somehow managed to break Marlene's Spanish guitar and cover Tyson in sticky oyster sauce.

Tyson didn't object to that. On the contrary, he waddled around as fast as he could and knocked over a few things as well. He also managed to dump the entire contents of Marlene's lunch in her pool. She suspected that Maya helped as well.

By the end of most of those play dates, Marlene was tired, sticky, and covered in leaves.

Kowalski had been helping around so much; he didn't have time to relax in his lab until now. He was sure that Skipper was on recon and Private was babysitting Tyson. Rikki and Rico were somewhere else doing who knows what.

Kowalski sighed and slipped into the lab, closing the door behind him. He continued to work on his invention when he heard a small sigh. He tensed immediately. He swiveled around, ready to face the trespasser.

"Who's there?" He said. "I'm warning you, I'm a highly trained-"

"I'm sorry, I'll leave."

"Mikayla? Where have you been?"

"Avoiding this place." Mikayla admitted, looking down on the ground.

"And why's that?"

"Tyson."

Kowalski sighed, "Listen, that was a long time ago and-"

"He's from Alaska like me. What if he's been told about me and he hates me?"

"If so, he doesn't remember. Honestly, he's a baby. He doesn't hate you any more than Maya does and she doesn't hate you."

"It still frightens me."

"Let's experiment then. You're babysitting him tomorrow."

"WHAT?!" She yelped.

Kowalski steered her towards the door just as Skipper was coming back in.

"Good news, Mikayla volunteers to babysit Tyson tomorrow." Kowalski said, ignoring Mikayla's frantic protests.

"Oh good, I was planning a park recon tomorrow with you boys and Marlene's going out with the girls."

"C-can't you let Rikki babysit?" Mikayla asked.

"Good idea, you two can babysit."

"NO! I don't want to babysit! Please don't make me!"

The boys ignored her.

"Who's babysitting tomorrow?" Private asked.

"Mikayla, isn't it wonderful?" Kowalski said, raising his voice above Mikayla's furious protests.

"What's wonderful?" Rikki asked as she and Rico entered the HQ.

"Rikki, you and Mikayla are babysitting tomorrow."

"I can't, Marlene's invited me to go with her."

"Okay then, Mikayla's babysi-"

"NO! DID YOU NOT HEAR ME? I AM NOT GOING TO-" She stopped. She blushed once she realized that everyone was silent and then…

"WAAAAAHHHH!"

"We'll work on that." Private said as he went to get Tyson.

And that was that. Once Kowalski had explained his reasoning to Skipper, both of them refused to listen to Mikayla's protests. Rico and Rikki couldn't offer more than an 'oh well' apology and Private was torn between wanting to say the same as Rico and wanting to help Mikayla out of this situation.

Now that she was set to do this, the day seemed to go fast for Mikayla. She couldn't believe that it was bedtime when it came. She buried her face in her flippers and the next thing she knew, Skipper was shaking her awake.

"Here we go." She whispered with the air of one about to enter a particularly difficult battle.

**A/N: …**

…

**I'll let Skipper talk**

**Skipper: First off, in case you didn't know, paternity leave is when the father takes off work to help with the baby.**

**Second. Jack the employee will play a part later and so will the baby, do not fret.**

**Third. The boys and I, and the author, hope you enjoy this story. Now get reviewing, that's an order!**

**Private: He meant please. Next chapter will be the babysitting adventure, yay!**

**Mikayla: Yay for you, not me.**

**Kowalski: AUTHOR NOTE FINISHED SO MISS SOUR PUSS DOESN'T RUIN THE MOOD.**


	43. Adventures in Penguinsitting

**A/N: I feel like my chapters haven't been as good as they used to be…or at least I used to be enthusiastic. I still love and want to write the stories, but I'm still trying to come back to what I used to have. It started six months and more than twelve hours ago. An incident happened that I'm sure you've heard of and even though I'm far away it still hit hard because I have young cousins, nieces and nephews. I tried pretending everything was okay, but in truth I'm still worried that the incident could happen to my family like it did before. I'm sorry if I brought you down, I just wanted to explain something that I needed to get off my chest.**

She still felt numb with fear while Skipper was explaining everything to her. He had food prepared for Tyson and told her exactly how to handle everything and if she needed help, Josie would be in the badger habitat with the girls. As Tyson was a baby, he needed diapers until he could be toilet trained.

Of course, Kowalski had built a crib to contain Tyson and right now, he was stirring. He'd heard his dad's voice and started to wake up.

That's when everyone vacated the HQ.

Mikayla let out a deep breath and went to the bathroom to wash up. She tried giving herself an encouraging smile, but she thought she heard a crack from the mirror.

She was making her way back when she heard a noise. It was a soft whimper. Then it turned into various baby babbles and then-

"DA? Ah da?"

"Hello." Mikayla said. "My name is Mikayla; I will be your babysitter today. Don't worry, the others will return later." She lifted the lid to hear him better.

"Rrrrr?"

She couldn't help but giggle, Tyson sounded like he was attempting to growl, but it was high pitched and sounded like a question.

"So, what do babies do?" She asked him. "I really don't know. I just hope we both survive."

Tyson opened his mouth. She peered inside it. "Your tonsils are fine."

Tyson grunted and nodded his head with his mouth still open.

"What's wrong?"

"Neeh!" The baby squeaked.

"Huh? You need something?"

"NEEEEEE!"

"I'm sorry, what do you need?"

Tyson looked at her with watery eyes. She heard a rumble from somewhere, but couldn't pinpoint it.

She put her flipper on the rail of the crib, trying to figure out what he wanted-

"Hey!"

He grabbed her flipper and bit it.

"OW!" She was about to glare harshly, but realized he was rubbing his tummy. "Oh dear, you're hungry. I'll get you some fish."

Tyson's eyes lit up at the word 'fish' and he seemed to approve as he stuffed a flipper in his mouth and began gnawing on it.

Mikayla got the small jar of food and approached Tyson who had his mouth open again.

"How do I do this?" She wondered.

She didn't want to stuff it in his mouth and choke him, but she also didn't know if he could feed himself. She unscrewed the lid and gestured for him to take it.

"RAAAAA!" Tyson yelled, nipping at the jar.

"Alright, hang on!" Mikayla said. She put the jar at the tip of his beak and began pouring it in. She didn't hear any choking sounds so she continued at that pace.

When it was all done, Tyson burped and smiled.

"Whew." Mikayla sighed. "You survived."

"Ah?"

"Um, you get food later. Right now, we play." She went to look for some toys for Tyson, unaware that she had left the top of the crib open. "Oh that's not safe." She said, placing Rico's dynamite on a higher shelf. She finally found Private's Lunacorn. "Aha!" She said.

"Okay, I know it's a little girly, but I brought you-" She stopped dead. Tyson was nowhere to be seen. She dropped the Lunacorn and ran to the crib. It was empty.

A blanket had been caught on part of the crib and was now dangling over the edge.

"Oh no." Mikayla gasped. She immediately checked Kowalski's lab and then closed the door when she came out. "Tyson, where are you? Tyson? Tyson, come out and we can play games. Please don't frighten me. Tyson." A gust of cold wind made her look up.

A small sliver of light was poking through the hatch, small but big enough for a small object to get through. Big enough for a baby penguin.

"TYSON!" Mikayla screamed, bolting up the ladder. She found him trying to get a drink of water. "N-no…Tyson, get back here!" She didn't mean for it to come out harsh, but she was completely scared now, flashbacks threatening to cloud her vision.

Tyson was startled and began to whimper and rock. Rocking dangerously close to the edge.

Mikayla started forward, but Tyson jumped and nearly fell off the edge. He rocked harder now with fresh sobs coming out.

"P-please c-come here…I won't hurt…I-I want you to be safe…come here…" She approached him slowly with a flipper held out for him, fighting the memories that surfaced.

She got closer to Tyson and he stopped crying. He saw her now as the same penguin who had just fed him. She would be nice to him. He crawled over to her and she scooped him up.

"You're okay." She said, patting his back. She took him down to the HQ where Tyson played in his playpen and Mikayla rested, making sure to check on him.

She fetched him at naptime. He got some more food and was ready for nap, but he didn't want to go down.

"How about a story?" Mikayla said. "I think it'll explain what happened earlier today. It actually happened a while ago."

She remembered seeing Josie rock Maya and decided to try that.

"It's not a happy story." She told him. "But I need to tell someone, even if it's a baby."

Tyson looked up at her.

She noted that he had almost the same shade of brown as the other penguin's…on that fateful day so long ago…actually, how long ago was it? She remembered…

**FLASHBACK…ALASKA, 5 ½ YEARS AGO**

_She was playing in the snow with a group of other penguins when she decided to get a fresh batch of the cold ice. She wandered to a part where the snow was hard, but still soft enough to be thrown without injuries. She scooped some up when she saw it._

_A small black dot was making its way towards the water's edge. She squinted to find that it was a penguin._

"_Mikayla!"A voice called from behind. Her friends couldn't see her because she'd gone too far, but she heard her name from a distance._

_Realizing that it was a baby penguin, Mikayla ran after him._

"_Little guy, where are you going? Don't you know it's dangerous to wander by yourself?" She said once she was within earshot._

_The baby penguin made a complaining noise. He didn't look much older than a month. They were now at the edge of the icy ground._

"_Are you thirsty?" She asked._

_The baby penguin made a motion to jump in the water, but Mikayla held him back._

"_One sip, then we're going." She said. She lowered his beak into the water. She heard him gulp three times before pulling him out._

_There was a boat ahead. Thinking it to be hunters, she pulled the other penguin back to safety._

_The baby's parents were glad to have him back. Mikayla told him that she gave him a little water before they returned._

_Four days later it happened._

_Four days. That was all it took._

_She had woken to shouts and a surrounding crowd. Her parents had disappeared and the other penguins were furious._

_They wasted no time in calling her names and throwing things at her._

_What did she do? Did hunters come and she failed to report it? Did her friends get hurt because she was supposed to come?_

_No, it was none of those._

_She'd cornered a former friend and demanded to know what was going on._

_And the friend told her…_

"_You killed him. That kid died from poisoning. You killed that kid." The other said before turning her back on Mikayla._

_Mikayla shook her head, hardly daring to believe it. She ran and ran until she found the boy's parents. And sure enough, they were burying their baby. They shooed her away before she could explain herself._

_She hoped her parents would help; they'd always been reasonable penguins. Well, her dad was less reasonable, but her mother always listened before judging._

_She found her parents muttering in low voices._

"_M-mom…D-dad…p-please tell me…tell me that this isn't true…"_

_Their faces explained enough._

"_Please let me explain. It was an accident. I didn't know the water was poisoned, I swear."_

_They didn't respond._

"_Say something, please. Anything would be fine, just show me that you're listening."_

"_You are no child of ours." Her dad spoke. His tone was stern and serious._

"_Please let me-"_

"_Get out. GET OUT, DO YOU THINK WE WANT TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH A MURDERER?!" Her mother screamed._

_Mikayla bit back a retort and she fled, choking back the sobs she wanted to release so badly._

_She found a home near a river and stayed there for about three years, alone, without anyone to talk to._

_Then she reached her breaking point, she'd march up to them and tell them exactly what happened and if they refused to listen…she'd run away for good._

_She found the colony again and waited with bated breath. A few children played nearby, but she avoided them._

_A snowball managed to hit her though. She didn't bother to respond as the child yelled an apology._

_She kept her head down and found her parents._

_Of course she couldn't do that without being recognized._

_A former close friend had spotted her and followed suspiciously. Before Mikayla had the chance to say anything, the other penguin screamed. The scream attracted everyone's attention._

"_Why are you back here?"_

"_Get out!"_

_And the insults became worse and the names were terrible. _

_She realized that she could never go back. They wouldn't accept her. She ran south until she collapsed._

_She'd been found by a rescue team and sent to a few different places for two years before settling in Arizona._

_Then she became scared of hurting the surrounding baby animals and put herself on the next transfer list to anywhere._

**END FLASHBACK**

"And that's how I ended up in New York." Mikayla said. "The reason I snapped at you was because I was scared that I'd be blamed for another murder. I'm truly sorry if I scared you. It brought up the painful memory."

She looked down to find Tyson fast asleep. He was snoring lightly and had curled up against her chest. She smiled, thinking he probably fell asleep in the early part of her narration, but at least he wasn't getting himself into trouble.

She put him in his crib and closed the lid so he wouldn't escape. She knew there were holes at the top and bars around his crib that he couldn't slip through. They were there so he could breathe.

Tyson didn't wake up until at least 2:00 and he was very hungry. He rubbed his eyes and stood up, waiting for Mikayla to get him.

Mikayla had fallen asleep after lunch and was under her blanket, snoring.

She woke up half an hour later to find Tyson missing again.

"Oh no!"

"Calm down, we're over here."

Mikayla turned to see Josie feeding Tyson and Maya playing with the Lunacorn.

"When did you get here?"

"Half an hour ago, you were still asleep. I was going to ask if you could watch Maya for a while. I need to relax a bit and Julien's not helping. By the way, I changed Tyson's diaper."

"Um, does she need to be fed or something?"

"Nope, she just had lunch so she's good until dinner. I'll pick her up before then. If she gets hungry, I put some fruit in the fridge."

"Oh, okay." Mikayla said.

"Thanks sweetie, you're the best!" Josie said, putting Tyson down. "Maya, be good for the babysitter."

"M'kay Mama." Maya said, batting her eyes.

Josie nodded and left.

Maya and Tyson turned to Mikayla.

"Hi, I'm-"

"Malee?"

"I'm sorry; I don't know what that means."

"Ya no Malee."

"If it helps, I'm Mikayla."

"Akala?" Maya wondered.

"Yes Maya, that's me. What would you like to do?"

"Cwabye!"

"Huh?"

"Cwabye pengy! Ah Pengy, ah Kippy, ah Wally, ah Eco, ah pengy cwabye."

Mikayla smiled nervously, what was she supposed to say to that? "Um…what do kids usually do?" she asked.

Maya shrugged. "Ah Ema, Mowie play Maya."

"Mowie? Maurice?"

"Ah huh!"

"What games do you want to play?"

"Pengy Akala, play!"

"How do you play Pengy Akala? Oh hang on; I'm Akala…er…" She spotted the discarded Lunacorn. "I have an idea."

She found a bowling pin she'd seen the boys training with and a cardboard box.

She emptied the box and put it in front of the kids.

Tyson was about to wander, but Maya pulled him back. "Pengy Tys'n, see." She pointed to the box that Mikayla had disappeared behind.

Tyson's interest came back when the Lunacorn popped up.

"Hello, I am a Lunacorn." Mikayla said in Private's accent, though she was a terrible imitator.

"Hello Lunacorn, I'm Pinhead." She said in a deep voice.

"So Pinhead, what are you doing today?" The Lunacorn moved while 'speaking'.

"Oh, I'm just inventing and wanted you to help." The bowling pin moved.

"Yay, I love to help."

"Okay, stand right there."

"Right here?"

"Yes Lunacorn, right here."

"Now what? Pinhead?"

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

"EEP!"

Mikayla made 'pew noises and shook the Lunacorn.'

"No, Pinhead! Don't use me as your experiment!"

"Why not, Lunacorn? I always use civilians to test out my unknown experiments and expect them to be okay with it when I catch them by surprise." A tone of annoyance appeared at the end of her sentence, but she shook it off.

"Because, it's not nice to do that and you could really hurt me!"

"I'm sorry Lunacorn, I guess I was too caught up in being a geeky scientist that I didn't remember that other people have feelings too."

"Aw, that's okay Pinhead."

"Gaba 'ee" Maya said.

They had been enjoying the show, but now Maya was looking for Mikayla.

"Akala, gaba 'ee!"

Mikayla put Tyson in the play pen and turned to Maya.

"What's wrong?"

"Ah gaba 'ee, Akala, gaba 'ee!"

"Why didn't Josie give me a translation paper?"

"Huh? GABA 'EE!" Maya shouted, she looked like she was trying to dance and trying to stop herself at the same time.

"It almost looks like you have to-"

Mikayla gasped and brought Maya to the bathroom.

"Oopsie." Maya said.

Mikayla looked down to see a puddle forming. She held Maya above the toilet so she could finish. Then she put her in the play pen with Tyson.

"Ew."

Mikayla looked questioningly at Maya who pointed at Tyson.

Tyson grunted and then looked satisfied.

"Ew is right." Mikayla said. She picked up Tyson and put him on the changing table that was attached to the crib. "And no one told me how to change a baby penguin."

She tried her best to clean him and put him back in the playpen. Then she proceeded to clean the mess that Maya had left.

"Note to self, 'gaba 'ee' means she's about to pee." Mikayla muttered.

A few hours later found the kids sleeping in the playpen. Mikayla put Tyson in his crib and decided to let Maya sleep in the playpen.

Mikayla slid a pillow under Maya's head and put a blanket over her. Maya didn't seem to mind at all.

A few more hours later, Mikayla was being woken up from a good nap. She woke up to see Kowalski's tired face.

"Oh no, they escaped again?" She bolted up.

"No, Josie picked up Maya and Tyson just woke up." He indicated Private. Private was changing Tyson's stinky diaper. Apparently he hadn't finished his poop from earlier.

"And what do you mean again?" Kowalski asked in an amused tone.

"I don't think you want to know."

"How was your babysitting adventure?" Skipper asked.

"Tiring, never put me through that again." Mikayla said.

"Aw, come on now." Kowalski said. "You mean you didn't enjoy it?"

"No, I meant it was tiring."

"Don't worry, we have it on tape."

"Yeah, okay- WHAT?! You recorded me?!"

"Yeah." Kowalski said simply.

Mikayla watched them nervously as they slid the disk into the television.

She covered herself with the blanket and blushed when they came to the puppet show.

"Pinhead?"

Kowalski burst out laughing. Mikayla attempted to burrow herself deeper into the blankets.

"Shut it, Pinhead." Mikayla mumbled.

"Sorry Lunacorn."

Mikayla's blush turned deeper pink.

"Thanks for saving him." Skipper said, "And is that story true?"

"It is."

"Well you did a great job, babysitter."

Mikayla peeked out of her blanket. "Really?"

"Yeah, you handled a penguin and a lemur in the same day."

"Uh-huh, do you mind never doing that to me again?"

"Why not, you're great and now you're not afraid of being around children." Kowalski said.

Mikayla gave him a look. "You planned this, didn't you?"

Kowalski grinned. "Maybe."

"You're such a jerk."

Kowalski's smile widened. He watched Mikayla glare at him for another minute and then proceeded to his lab.

Skipper sighed and opened a classified folder. "Now to uncover this mystery."

"What mystery?" Rikki asked.

"Trying to figure out how Jack came to work here." He said, not looking up. "Jack Sullivan…hmm… his history seems normal…"

"Sullivan?" Mikayla asked. "That name sounds familiar to me."

Skipper looked up. "Whatever information you have would be nice."

"It was one of my transfers before Arizona. I think Jack Sullivan worked there…New Mexico, maybe? I think he rescued an animal from illegal hunters or something."

"How long ago was that?"

"I was there two years ago and the otter was transferred before I came."

"Otter? You didn't mention an otter."

"It just came to me."

Skipper shot out of his seat so suddenly that his papers were knocked to the ground.

"Kowalski, Rico, Private!" He called.

The boys rushed to him.

"Follow me."

The four of them left without another word, leaving the girls to exchange confused glances or rather, Mikayla glanced at Rikki while the latter was looking in the direction of Kowalski's lab with a similar look of confusion.

**A/N: What just happened?**

**Just in case you forgot, here's a Maya translator:**

**Cwabye = classified**

**Malee = Marlene**

**Pengy = Penguin/ Private**

**Wally = Kowalski**

**Kippy = Skipper **

**Eco = Rico**

**Gaba 'ee = gotta pee**

**Mowie = Maurice/ Mort**

**Ema = Lemur**

**Akala = Mikayla**

**Ya no Malee = You're not Marlene**

**Ah = I/a/me**

**You can ask if any other words confuse you, please read and review.**

**Also, a very awesome reviewer on deviantart pointed out in a previous chapter that I had stated that one of the penguins bit their lip which is quite impossible. This is purely a silly mistake and I would appreciate if you found any more that you please notify me and I will attempt to fix it immediately. Thank you.**

**T.K.**


	44. Bitter revelations

"Wally…Kowalski, come here."

Kowalski looked around; he only saw his teammates and Izzy who was being questioned by Skipper. He saw something brown and fuzzy poking around the corner. He dismissed it to be Mort and tried to pay attention to Skipper. He found it hard as the voice called again.

"It's going to happen…Wally…Wally you have to destroy it…"

"Destroy what?" He asked aloud, earning a confused look from Rico and Skipper.

"I have to tell you something." The voice said.

Kowalski saw Mort running around after Julien's feet and he spotted Fred hanging out in a tree. He didn't recognize the tail to be any of the other zoo animals. He didn't register Skipper speaking to him, he knew the voice was familiar and was determined to find out.

"I'm right…You were right before…something terrible is going to happen…Wally, don't go…it will come if you leave and then when you return…the terrible thing will come…"

Kowalski ran around the corner, his flippers up in defense and ready to chew out whichever animal was giving him a hard ti-

His eyes widened in shock.

"It's me."

"No." Kowalski said. "I've had enough hallucinations and nightmares for one day. Emma is dead, you are not her."

The squirrel stared at him with the same expression his late best friend had when encountering a troublesome animal.

"There is a spy in your midst."

"Emma, please just keep resting in peace."

"I can't. Not until I am sure my friends are out of danger."

"We're getting rid of Blowhole as soon as he shows his face."

Emma's mouth opened, but no words came out.

Kowalski felt a stinging sensation on his cheek and closed his eyes. Once he opened them, he found himself standing back in the otter habitat and Skipper was in front of him.

"I've been trying to get your attention for the last ten minutes." The leader said.

"Emma…" Kowalski whispered.

"She's in a better place now." Izzy said.

"She was warning me about something. Never mind, what were you saying?" Kowalski shook his head and turned to Skipper.

"Izzy doesn't remember if the guy's name was Jack, but he remembers the last name Sullivan. Maybe it was his father or brother or something." Skipper said. "All the same, we should keep an eye on him."

"Hey, what day is it?" Private asked.

Kowalski whipped out his calendar. "February eighth, why?"

"It's Rikki's birthday in ten days, should we do something?"

Rico grinned and nodded.

"Alright, I suppose we could save room for party planning. In the meantime, Izzy, try to remember whatever you know or knew about Jack." Skipper said.

"I'll give the old noggin a shake or two."

Skipper glanced at Kowalski who shrugged.

"Someone help us!"

The penguins looked around and saw four beavers running towards them.

"You've got to help us!" Kendall said.

"Those really cute badgers are after us!" James said. "Have I mentioned they're cute?"

"Not the time!" Logan said. "They're freaking us out and I think they're trying to get hair samples."

BOOM!

Pieces of metal rained down on them, covered in what looked like pink smoothie.

"What the-?" Fierce shouts erupted from the lemur habitat, interrupting Skipper.

"HE POOPED OUT OF HIS DIAPER!" Mikayla yelled, climbing out of the habitat.

The badgers came running into view with Marlene behind them.

"Too much…" Skipper panted, flashbacks came to him at the sound of the explosion. It was too familiar. Too painful. "You've got to stop…"

The uproar around them concealed his voice.

"QUIET!" Skipper yelled. "Can't anyone leave you alone for five minutes without chaos ensuing?"

"Eh, who?" Julien asked.

"Rico, Kowalski, go to the lemur habitat and find out what's going on; Private, diaper duty on the double; Nat, Mikayla and Marlene, come here!"

The other three penguins saluted and left to do their jobs.

"First of all, what's going on?" He demanded of the beavers and badgers.

"They're obsessed with us!" Kendall said. "Not that I don't mind having a girlfriend…but they're completely nuts!"

"But there are only two of us and four of them, how are we supposed to pick?" Becky asked.

"How about you just talk it out?" Nat said. "Instead of going crazy, just talk about what's happening."

"Start off small." Marlene added. "Start by being friends and see where that leads you."

"Oh, alright." Stacy sighed. She and Becky turned to the beavers. "Want to be friends?"

"Sure, do you like corndogs?" Carlos asked.

"I've never tried them." Becky said.

Carlos gasped. "We must go right away!"

The beavers and badgers left, chatting nicely.

Skipper turned to Mikayla.

"He had a big blowout poop." Mikayla said. "And Rikki couldn't help me."

"Relieve Private of his duty."

"Huh?"

"Not the diaper, I meant tell Private to join me."

Mikayla nodded and headed towards the penguin habitat as Rico and Kowalski returned from the lemur habitat.

"You put the boom box in the blender?" Kowalski said, half angry and half amused.

"I didn't like the song." Nat replied simply.

"I thought you two made a truce."

"That expired the moment we got to New York."

"That could have started a fire." Skipper said. "Also, machine parts could have hit the animals. Although Burt and Roy are big and probably wouldn't feel it much; Mort, Maya, and the rest of us smaller animals could be hurt far easier than they could."

"I know."

"You know, then why would you do it?"

"Because I don't like Julien, Flatty."

"If you're going to call me names, at least find a more flattering one."

"Fine, Captain Paranoia."

"I can live with that."

The penguins turned to leave when Kowalski remembered something.

"Izzy, Nat, do you ever see Emma sometimes?" He asked.

"You mean in flashbacks or dreams?"

"No, Nat, like right in front of you. Not a dream, but something almost solid."

"A hallucination?" Izzy suggested.

"Definitely not."

"So, what you're saying is that you think you're seeing the ghost or something of our dead friend?" Nat asked.

"Well basically…yes."

"What did she say?" Izzy wondered.

"She didn't, she's dead. Kowalski's imagining things." Nat said firmly.

"Am not! She said there was a spy among us and we were in terrible danger and we have to destroy it." Kowalski said.

"Destroy what?"

"Nothing, Izzy, because he's delirious."

"Nat, seriously!" Kowalski said.

"What are we supposed to destroy?" Izzy asked.

"The spy, I assume."

"Hmm…interesting." Skipper said.

"No it's not! There is no spy." Nat huffed.

"A spy would say that."

"I thought we were moving on from that!"

"Doesn't mean you can't be suspected again."

Nat opened her mouth angrily, closed it and stomped away.

"So, you really believe whatever you saw?" Skipper asked.

"It was Emma, and I believe her. After Nat left the zoo, I saw clouds above the lemur habitat. They were red in color and I think something's going to happen to one or all of them." Kowalski explained.

"Why would the color of the sky matter?"

"Emma told me that sometimes you can tell what's going to happen when you look at clouds."

"But why would the lemurs be involved? They weren't before."

"Wrong, Skipper. Julien, Mort, and Maurice came with us from Madagascar and the first two came back to Madagascar with us. They were involved. Josie was kidnapped with the rest of us and she got hit by glass where Maya was. Either way, Josie was involved. Nat too, she got hurt helping us out. And she's probably not thought of fondly for betraying them. Any one of the lemurs in this zoo could possibly be in danger and that includes the unborn baby. Also, we are in danger as well since we're part of the resistance against Blowhole. Add the rest of the penguins minus Mikayla and Rikki, but add in Marlene who was with us the day of the kidnapping and also taken right before my mission began. Add Rikki and Mikayla back in because they live here. And before I forget, Rikki was part of the unauthorized but successful recovery mission of you."

"What you're saying is the lemurs, otters, and penguins of this zoo are in danger as well as the entire Antarctic Force, am I correct?"

"Yes. If the goal is to get rid of anyone who associates with us, then we have a whole lot in jeopardy with the life outside the park and also Africa and the entire west side of Madagascar."

"Africa? What does that have-?"

"We're friends with Melman, Gloria, Marty, and Alex who in turn have made friends and have family in Africa. If the four of them are targeted, why not get rid of the animals who would object with them being hurt or possibly killed."

"Everyone we have come in contact with is in danger."

"That includes the humans of this zoo. Alice, the zookeepers, the doctor, the tourists, everybody who has contact with them is in danger as well. And don't you think the country would rather not have mysterious disappearances?"

"And if they disappear, the world will get involved."

"Planet wide panic, mass mayhem, everything playing into Blowhole's plan. His plan is the spy. The spy will try to kill the four of us and anyone it thinks will be key to our destruction. The spy could be animal or human."

"And I think it's Jack Sullivan. He's pretty suspicious."

"We should-"

"Hey guys!" Mikayla called. "There's a penguin on your television."

The boys zipped over; Kowalski put a flipper on her beak. "Please don't shout things like that. There's a spy around and we can't have information leaking to the enemy.

"Aren't I a suspect?" Mikayla asked.

"Just go up top with Rikki and Tyson." Skipper said.

Once they were alone, the four of them turned to the television.

"Hey Tory, what's up?"

"General Kent is holding a mass funeral service for the deceased animals next week. Will you be in attendance?"

"Certainly." Skipper said. "We need to discuss something with her, where is she?"

"She is in her private quarters now and wishes not to be disturbed…there is one more thing…"

"What is it?"

"Another death."

"Not the village?"

"No, it's Kowalski's father. We were too late to catch the ones responsible, but we're pretty sure it's Blowhole's doing."

Skipper remembered now, Ralph had asked to leave the village back in Antarctica and never stayed. And now, he was gone. Skipper looked at Kowalski. The scientist was staring in the corner in deep thought.

Skipper saluted and ended the call. He ordered the others to get ready for bed and sat down at the table. Kowalski joined him absentmindedly, running a flipper through his feathery head.

"I kind of feel bad about the skunk spray now." Skipper muttered.

Kowalski didn't answer. For a long time the two of them sat in silence until they heard the soft snores of the other penguins. Skipper was uncertain of how to approach the subject and Kowalski was just plain lost for words.

Skipper's eyes began drooping when a small voice snapped him awake. It was a very small voice.

"How?" Kowalski repeated.

Skipper raised a brow, waiting for the scientist to elaborate.

"How am I supposed to feel?" Kowalski sighed. "I hated him for thirteen years, ran away from home without looking back; saw him for the first time thirteen years later; grew angrier at information withheld from me; I left for the zoo before I could confront him; and by the time I get back, he's left for Wisconsin…and now he's dead and I can't confront him."

Skipper couldn't answer. It wasn't that he didn't want to, it was lack of words. He had no idea what to say in this situation. He'd loved his own father and been devastated at his death alongside his eldest three children.

"I need to talk to my mother…maybe she won't know what to say, but no one else knows what I'm going through."

"There is." Skipper finally said.

"What do you mean?"

"There are two others who know EXACTLY what you've been through and they're both in this zoo."

"Izzy and Nat?"

"Yes, they're your childhood friends. You could talk to them because they know what you'd been through, you shared with them, right?"

"Emma's the one I spoke to the most."

"What happened to Nat's parents? Or to Izzy's father?"

"Nat's parents died in a wildfire when she was very young. Izzy's dad…well, he never talked about it."

"Then you should talk to him."

"I'd rather plan Rikki's birthday party."

"No. You can't bury your feelings inside or they'll destroy you. You have to come out and be honest with yourself and others. Don't hide from this."

Kowalski nodded.

The next morning, Kowalski resolved to speak to his childhood friends about what he'd just found out.

Nat refused to speak about what Kowalski saw yesterday, even though he insisted he did see-

"She's dead." Nat said. "I'm going to leave if you have nothing else to say."

"I do…I need help. I don't know what to think anymore. My father is dead…he was killed by Blowhole's agents."

The other two remained silent as they too were lost for words. They had obviously known and met Kowalski's father, but they hadn't expected something like this to happen. Izzy had been taught to be polite and respectful towards someone who has just lost a member of their family. Nat on the other hand was as confused as Kowalski. She had hated the way Kowalski was treated and constantly badmouthed his father every chance she got.

"Did you cry about it?" Izzy asked. "I did when my mom died."

"Your mom's gone?" Nat asked. "Was she in that river of otters?"

"No, she got sick at the zoo and they had to put her down."

"But she was kind to you." Kowalski said. "She loved you more than anything. My father hated me and my mother. He took me away because he was jealous and wanted her to have nothing." He looked down at his webbed feet. "I don't feel sad, I feel pity. I feel like I pity him for not being able to move on. In a way, I still feel sorry that this happened. I wouldn't want him killed by Blowhole, that's for sure."

"There, that's how you feel." Izzy said. "Sorry, a little pity, and maybe somewhat sad but not enough to make you cry."

"Izzy, what happened to your dad?"

Kowalski looked up, he'd been wondering how to ask that question, but Nat did it for him. Izzy had a distant look on his face and snapped back when Kowalski clapped his flippers.

"I don't know, I never met him. My mom said that it was the aquarium's fault, she was never in love with him. They put her in the breeding program even though she didn't want to. She told me that she had informed my father that she was pregnant, but that she was also being transferred. She was friends with the other female otter, but they separated and I don't know if they're still alive. That otter had a baby before I was born, but I don't remember if it was a boy or a girl."

"So you could possibly have a stepbrother or stepsister somewhere?" Kowalski asked. "That's amazing, which aquarium was it?"

"I don't know."

"Which state was it?"

"California."


	45. Rikki's birthday

The days leading to Rikki's birthday were a blur to Kowalski. Mikayla kept asking if he was alright, but she didn't know his history. She thought he was devastated to hear of his father's death, but she hadn't been told. Kowalski attempted to hide from the rest of the zoo by concealing himself in his lab.

It was during one of these hideout sessions that Izzy and Nat dropped in. They'd been attempting to persuade Skipper to take them in search of Izzy's father and brother or sister. He said he would think about it and they hadn't received a response yet.

"Please!"

"I'm sorry, Izzy, but we have to go to Antarctica the week after Rikki's birthday." They had been contacted and informed that some of the agents were travelling long distances and couldn't make it in a few days so they postponed it to March 2nd. Skipper's team would be heading out a few days early in their smaller plane which Kowalski was 99.83% sure would work and not explode. "It would take longer than the trip and we haven't got time for a wild goose chase."

"Isn't that what Jordan said about looking for Izzy?" Nat said.

Skipper froze. "That was a different set of circumstances." He said stiffly. "How are you so sure that this is what you want?"

"I would like to know my dad." Izzy said. "Rocky told me about your father… wouldn't you give anything to be with him for one more day?"

"And how are you sure that they're still in California? How are you sure they're still alive?"

Izzy had no answer.

"We could contact the aquarium." Nat said brightly.

"There are aquariums all over California. Are you sure your mother wasn't specific?"

"So is that a yes?" Nat asked with a wide grin on her face.

"I think she said it was Monterey."

Skipper looked at the lemur and otter carefully before sighing.

"Fine. But-" He stopped as they cheered. "But we should contact them first. And it has to be after Antarctica."

"Aww." Nat groaned.

"Fine." Izzy said, stepping on Nat's toes. "That's a wonderful idea."

"I just hope your brother or sister is normal." Kowalski said, peeking out of his lab.

"I'm sure of it. He or she is my stepsibling."

"Half, actually. You both share the same father."

"So you were wrong?" Nat said. "You, the famous Kowalski…was wrong."

"Leave me alone." Kowalski grumbled.

"As soon as you admit that you were wrong."

"Is now the time?"

"Yes."

Kowalski glared at Nat before shutting himself back in his lab.

"Wow, he needs to work out some issues." Nat said.

"Or you do." Izzy said. He looked at her with a quizzical look.

"What do you mean?"

"You need to be more sensitive."

"Sensitive?! I'm plenty sensitive! He's just being stubborn."

"You're being stubborn."

"He did not see Emma! She is dead; there is no way to see her ever again!" Nat shouted.

"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT?!" Kowalski yelled from his lab.

"Shut up!" Nat snapped.

"QUIET!" Skipper yelled. "You two, out of my HQ."

"Fine." Nat huffed.

"Sorry, Skipper." Izzy said.

Skipper waited ten minutes before entering the lab. Kowalski was sitting at a workbench, mixing things together. Skipper exited without saying anything, causing the scientist to look around confusedly for a few minutes.

The penguins were planning on spending Rikki's birthday doing whatever she wished for and then topping it off with an amazing cake baked by Marlene and Mikayla. Skipper was hoping that Kowalski would shake off any negative feelings and be ready for a full day in the morning.

Rikki yawned and stretched as she woke up.

"Good morning." She said.

There was no response.

"Is it even morning?"

"Yes, Rikki." An automated voice responded.

She felt around her bed until she felt a cold square object. It was Kowalski's smart phone which had been repaired and programmed to respond to Rikki's voice.

"By the way, you are holding me upside down."

Rikki turned it over. "What time is it?"

"It is approximately twenty past ten, would you like the date and year?"

"Why not…"

"Date, February 18, 2013. Also, happy birthday."

"Thanks…hey it is my birthday! Where is everyone?"

"I'm sorry; my GPS app still needs to be modified. I can tell you where you are, though."

"I know where I am, I just want to know where my brother is. Can you detect the nearest chainsaw?"

"I'm afraid I cannot do that. However, I can make calls."

"Call Kowalski's smart phone."

The phone dialed and began ringing. Rikki heard a faint ringing sound and proceeded further. She stopped when her flipper hit the crib. She opened it and felt the mattress. Tyson wasn't there.

"Hello? Rico? Skipper?" She walked until her extended flipper hit a door handle.

Upon opening the door, she realized it was Kowalski's lab. She knew because it smelled of chemicals and burnt feathers.

She stepped forward, but jumped back immediately. "What did I just step on?" She put her foot back and felt a cold rectangular object which made a ringing noise. "Very funny." She muttered, picking up the phone.

"Haha…nice try." The phone said in Kowalski's recorded voice. "The adventure begins now. Head up the hatch."

Rikki put her phone down and took Kowalski's to the other side of the base and up the ladder.

Once she had gotten outside, she heard surrounding animals talking, but the immediate area was silent.

"Are you ready for the test?" The phone asked.

"Test? What are you talking about? Can I eat breakfast before the test? You know it's not a good idea to take a test on an empty stomach."

"It begins."

"Wha-?" She stopped. A faint tap sounded to her right. She heard a retching noise and the clang of something metal. She reached down to find a crowbar.

"Rikki, swing!" Private's voice rang out.

Rikki swung the crowbar around wildly. It collided with something that sounded metallic as it hit the ground. There was a hissing noise coming from it. She gasped and kicked it. It banged the gate and splashed into the water.

"Private, what's going on here?"

"An excellent example of my tutelage." Skipper's voice answered. "See boys, this is how you use your senses in combat. Now onto another game."

Rikki heard four pairs of feet thump onto the ground.

"Guys…"

"Hold on." Skipper interrupted. "Rico, Private, and I will be blindfolded. Kowalski has filled four jars with different things. Our objective is to correctly guess what objects Kowalski is having us smell."

Rikki heard the others shuffle closer to her.

"First thing." She heard Kowalski shift something and Rico sniffed.

"Uhh…Burn Fish?"

Another sniff sounded.

Private spoke this time. "Smells sour…er, rotten milk?"

"A dirty diaper?" Skipper asked.

"Rikki's turn." Kowalski said.

Rikki sniffed. It did smell bad, but she couldn't put her flipper on it. It seemed a little familiar.

"Smells like…uh…smells like really old fish and…sweat… ohh…your pool water."

"Wow, how'd you know that?" Kowalski asked.

"I fell in it when we arrived and tasted it. Rocky thought it was gross."

The boys laughed.

The next object was passed around.

Private gagged and stepped away.

Rico sniffed and sighed contently.

Skipper sniffed and gave his answer.

"WHAT IS THIS?" Rikki shrieked, covering her beak. "I don't even know…My guess is something you would find at a crime scene."

"Fish surprise." Skipper answered.

"Can I please smell something that won't make my beak fall off?"

"Here's the next one."

This one smelled sweet this time. Private guessed tea.

Rico thought it was syrup.

Skipper said it was the sweet stench of victory.

Rikki thought it was honey or a flower.

Rico was correct.

The last one was passed around.

"I really don't know." Private said. "It smells good and bad at the same time."

"Uhh…Kaboom?" Rico guessed.

"I actually helped Kowalski with this one so I pass." Skipper said.

"It does smell…hang on…I'm smelling fruit, salt, and something…let's see now…did you mix fruit, fish, and onions?"

"Close, burnt garlic." Kowalski said.

"How do you burn garlic?"

"Easy, use a flamethrower." Skipper said.

"Bonus round." Kowalski announced.

"Breakfast." Private said.

"FIIIIIISH!" Rico sang.

"Delicious." Skipper said.

"All of the above." Rikki answered.

The penguins enjoyed their breakfast as Skipper explained what they were going to do. Mikayla was staying with Marlene to help make the cake for Rikki and Tyson was playing at the lemur habitat.

"I want to fly a jetpack." Rikki said.

"Jetpacks are cool…" Kowalski said. "But uh…unfortunately I broke it."

"How did you do that?"

"Some things are better left unsaid."

Rikki grinned. She knew Kowalski was blushing because the other penguins snickered.

"I would like to make an announcement." Kowalski said. "I have nearly finished my transformation serum. It will allow us to change into anyone we want."

"Okay, as long as it's not Julien because I can barely stand one of him." Skipper said.

"Can I be first?" Rikki asked excitedly.

There was silence followed by an uncertain stammer she assumed was coming from Kowalski.

"Can't see your faces." She reminded them.

"The thing is…I want to test it on someone who wouldn't kill me if something went wrong. Rico would kill me if something happened to you." Kowalski said.

"Yup." Rico said calmly.

"Plus, I have no idea if what I'm making will allow previous conditions to disappear."

"In English, Einstein." Skipper said.

"Well…if Phil were to take it and transform himself into say….Mort, for instance. He might not be able to talk. I know it's your wish to see at least one thing, but I don't think a small transformation will reverse ten years. I gave everyone who rescued Skipper a medical checkup and I determined that your retinas were completely detached and surrounding tissue was too damaged to fix. Anything we could do would have to begin by drill-"

"OKAY!" Rico shouted.

"Sorry, I get carried away sometimes…" Kowalski said, staring at Rikki who had just abandoned her last piece of fish with watery eyes.

"Yeah…" Rikki whispered.

She jumped when a pair of flippers touched hers.

"That doesn't mean you're useless or any less beautiful." Kowalski said softly.

"I can hear some of the kids teasing me for being blind…what if the zoo is talking behind my back or even in front of me?"

"With Rico as your brother I don't think you have much to fear." Kowalski chuckled. "But seriously, I think you're a wonderful penguin and don't forget that you helped Private, Skipper, Rocky, and me escape that underwater base. If you hadn't come after us then there might have been one less penguin at Christmas or worse, we could have all died."

"I'm sorry…"

"It's alright to feel insecure sometimes, it happens to the best of us. Also, those humans don't know your story. If they knew what we did, they wouldn't be laughing. Ask yourself this, do you prefer being teased a little or being pitied?"

Rikki took a deep breath. "I suppose I prefer being teased…I hate being pitied. I would like everyone to register in their brains that I am blind and they should not cross me but I don't want a guiding hand every time I want to leave. Also, can you tell your friend Izzy to stop helping me?"

"Huh?"

"Every time we meet he tries to help me avoid the light posts or give me a boost up or takes my flipper and acts as a guide. I know he means well but it's a bit overwhelming sometimes. If I need his help I'll ask. For me there is nothing wrong with crashing into a few light posts because it helps me remember my footing and where objects are once I head out of the hatch."

"I'll talk to him."

"Thanks."

"Now we should get on with the festivities. What would you like to do today?"

Rikki smiled. "I want to go to Coney Island."

"It's a bit far but I'll see what we can do." Skipper said.

"EEEEEP! REALLY?"

"It's your special day and it's all about you." Private said.

"It's also Rocky's birthday."

"I called her earlier; she's on a mission right now." Skipper said. "She said we can call later and we'll sing happy birthday at the same time."

Rikki smiled so widely that she thought her beak was going to fall off. "You guys are the best!"

Two hours later found the penguins, minus Mikayla and Tyson on their way to Coney Island.

Skipper had spent the last half hour going over safety precautions and a strict schedule of when they had to be back.

They travelled by plane.

Private looked confused at the suggestion as their plane had crashed off the east coast of Madagascar. Kowalski explained that it was the smaller plane that had been in the works before they'd left. He took down the green tarp to show that it was much smaller, but still larger than their four small ones. It was supposed to go faster than the old one and programmed with stealth mode and advanced weaponry.

"Skipper and I have been working on it on and off in our spare time." Kowalski said.

"It helps when one is plagued by nightmares and doesn't wish to sleep again." Skipper said. "That being said, I am fit for this mission." He added to Private's concerned face.

"Why not take the subway?" Private asked.

"Because planes are cool."

"Can we invite anyone else?"

"That's a negative, Private. This plane wasn't built like the first." Kowalski said. "Dynamite's strong enough, but there's really only room for a small number of penguins, specifically the four of us. However, we have the birthday girl."

"Dynamite?"

"Somebody threw a tantrum until he could have another part besides building the weapon containment units." Kowalski gave Rico a glare. Rico grinned. "So we let him name it."

"Did I have a part?"

"Yes, we implemented your ideas of cushioned seating as well as snack compartments and a restroom; just don't ask where it goes after flushing. Skipper and I designed and built the rest."

"What did you name the bigger plane?" Rikki asked as they climbed in. There were only four seats so Rico had to hang onto Rikki and Private's chairs. Skipper hopped in the pilot' seat with Kowalski in the co-pilot's.

"Actually, we never got around to naming it." Skipper said. "It's a bit sad considering that was its first and only flight."

"How about the Unknown?" Private suggested.

"Yeah!" Rikki said.

"Sounds good to me." Skipper said.

"Hangar doors open." Kowalski said.

"Fasten your seatbelts everybody." Skipper said, gripping the controls.

"Stealth mode on."

"Ready for liftoff?"

Cheers filled the plane as it gave a low rumble.

"Excellent. Liftoff engaged." Kowalski pressed a few buttons. "Parking brake off." He pulled a lever down. "All clear…no humans in the immediate area…runway clear…and we're good to go."

"Go." Skipper said.

The plane rolled out of the hangar, gathering speed until it was able to zoom out into the air. The plane exited out of a cliff near the ocean. Skipper turned it and headed towards Coney Island.

There wasn't much to do but chatter excitedly.

It seemed like five minutes later they were landing in a nearby cave. They zipped out of the plane, made sure it was hidden and then headed to Coney Island's amusement park.

"Have fun." Skipper said.

**Back at Central Park…**

BOOM!

CLANG!

CRASH!

SPLAT!

"Mort, get out!" Marlene snapped at the small mouse lemur for the third time. "That's the fifth cake you've ruined, now why don't you go play with the other lemurs and leave us alone."

Mort trembled and looked at Mikayla who was cleaning the walls yet again. She turned away quickly for the sad eyes always got her. That's how Tyson had gotten away with biting, by flashing his baby eyes and she softened up.

"No, Mort." Mikayla said.

"Miss Natalie?"

Nat rolled her eyes. "I'm helping them set up for the party, you can't help." She said, handing Marlene some fresh ingredients. "I don't even want to know how you exploded something that didn't even make it to the oven this time."

Mort giggled. "Oopsie."

"Yeah, too late for that. Go play with Maya or-"

"NO!" Marlene said. "Remember how he ruined the third cake?"

She shuddered along with Mikayla and Nat.

"I didn't hurt her…" Mort mumbled.

"YOU PUT HER IN THE CAKE!" Marlene said. "I didn't even notice her until she was inches away from the oven."

"Someone play with meeeeee…."

"I have to make the cake." Marlene said, turning to her preparation table.

"Oh yay, can I help?"

"Did you not hear me?" Nat said. "You cannot help. Mort NO help, got it?"

"Yes…can I have some cake?"

"IF YOU STOP BLOWING IT UP AND PUTTING LIVING CREATURES IN IT!"

"Sorry, Miss Natalie."

Nat rolled her eyes and resumed helping Marlene prepare. Mikayla finished and wrapped up a bag to take to the garbage can. She tossed it in and turned to find Mort right there.

"Whoa I almost stepped on you!"

Mort looked at her with sad eyes "Mort want to help…"

"Mort, you've been banished so you don't interrupt the cake making process…again!"

"This time I be REAL good. I promise."

"That's what you said the first time you ruined it, and then you did it again."

"But this time-"

"Is the fifth, Mort. I'm sorry, but you were officially banned after you put Maya in the batter. That was really bad. Do you hate her that much?"

"Stupid baby…" Mort grumbled. "Always cuddling my king's feeeeeeeeet…"

Mikayla groaned.

"Now Josie have a new baby…stupid new baby…"

"Hey, give the child some slack. He or she isn't even born yet." Mikayla said, heading back to the otter habitat.

"I wish Josie would leave forever…" Mort said darkly.

Mikayla stopped. "You don't mean that."

"Yes, I want Josie to leave and never come back. And I want Maya go bye-bye too. Maybe I push her into wa-"

"STOP!" Mikayla yelled. "I don't want to hear any more from you. You stop this nonsense now because what you're talking about is murder. You want to kill Maya and trust me; Julien doesn't want a murderer for a follower."

"You don't know King Julien!"

"That may be true, but I've seen him angry when you pinch Maya or pull her fur. If he's that upset when you do that, he'll be downright furious if she dies."

"What if I pushes her into the water, then it looks like accident?"

SLAP!

Mort fell back. He looked up at the furious penguin and whimpered.

"Never speak of that again." She hissed. She turned and hurried to Marlene's habitat as fast as she could.

"Whoa, you okay?" Nat asked, spotting the panting penguin.

"I-I…what did I just do? I've never done that before…" Mikayla said, leaning against the cool wall.

"You've never taken out the trash before?" Nat asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because I'd have to contradict you by pointing out the previous ruins of cake we had to toss."

"Ihithim"

"Pardon?" Marlene asked, looking up from the bowl.

"I hit him."

"Mort?"

"Yes."

Marlene stayed silent as she poured the contents of the bowl into the pan.

"Was there a specific reason?" Nat asked.

"He was going on about trying to kill Maya as if he honestly meant it and he…he mentioned trying to drown her and make it look like an accident."

"Mort's an idiot. He probably wouldn't really-"

"He's done it before." Marlene interrupted. "He let her crawl around the zoo in the dark and he also let her escape the zoo."

"Well then Maya's going to be the first animal to ever have multiple death threats against her before she turns one." Nat said. "All joking aside, we'd never let that happen."

"He's threatening the unborn baby." Mikayla said.

"Again, we'd never let that happen. You know the boys wouldn't allow for this sort of thing to happen. Their primary goal is to make sure the zoo is safe and the residents are alive and well."

Mikayla didn't feel reassured.

A few hours later found the penguins in their habitat, celebrating. The lemurs and the otters were there as well. Rikki talked about how they went on several carnival rides and Kowalski threw up three times while Private threw up six and a half times. He managed to keep it down the first time. Rikki felt like she was flying through the air on the roller coasters and she ate tons of cotton candy, only throwing up once. Skipper looked nauseous at one point, but he stated that he had an iron stomach. Rico kept everything down.

"It was so fun!" Rikki yelled.

Skipper winced. "I have a headache, please don't shout."

"Sorry, Skippy."

"SkippER, not Skippy."

"Aw, does that mean I can't call you Skippy?" Rocky asked as her face flickered onto the monitor. "It's cool."

"Not as cool as Skipper, sis." Skipper said, sticking his tongue out. "You're not on a mission?"

"No, one of the recruits we're training got a bloody nose and the other one fainted." Rocky said, rolling her eyes. "I can't tell you how bad things have gotten. There's basically no one to train the younger recruits who were too young to be in the battle. Now that it's a new year, we have to train these cadets up to standard…we lost too many before…"

"Are any of the cadets good?"

"No. Whatever you did to make Dan listen, it didn't work for us."

Skipper scowled. "Do I have to smack his feathery head off for him to get it?"

Rocky shrugged. "Might be helpful. Anyway, I'm available so let's get this party moving!"

"CAKE!" Rico yelled. "Cake! Cake! Cake!"

The others chanted with him. Marlene and Nat brought the cake over. It looked delicious even if the frosting was clumsily thrown on there.

"Behold our seventh cake!" Marlene said. "It would have been the sixth had I noticed that Mort had turned the oven full blast on the fifth try."

"Seventh cake?" Skipper asked.

"Shush!"

"Mort ruined six cakes?"

"He sure did." Nat said. "Happy Birthday Rikki and Rocky!"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Everyone shouted.

Rikki blew out her candles and grinned. Rico cut the cake so fast that his flippers and the knife were black and silver blurs.

They danced and chatted for the rest of the night. Rocky had to end the transmission after Rico had begun serving the cake. Mort was kicked out after he tried to put Maya in Kowalski's lab. The kids fell asleep and the party was moved to the otter habitat until everyone got tired.

"Hold on, Marlene." Skipper said.

Marlene turned, yawning. "W-what's up?"

"Why did Mort look afraid earlier?"

Marlene rolled her eyes. "He ruined the cake six times; putting Maya in the batter on one try and then was slapped by Mikayla."

"And she did that because he put Maya in there?"

"No, he said something that struck a nerve and she slapped him. I think she said he was going on about trying to accidentally push Maya into the water."

Skipper nodded. "I see. Well, I would have slapped him too and maybe threatened him with a punishment from Rico. We should still keep an eye on him and on Mikayla as well."

"She still on your suspect list?"

"So is Nat."

"What have she and Izzy been going over there for?"

"Izzy has an older half sister that he wants to look for. She lives in Monterey, California."

"Could it possibly be me?" Marlene asked, raising her eyebrows.

Skipper looked at her tiredly for a few minutes, and then he jumped. "Why didn't I think of that? If it is, then it could be a quick mystery that's solved by yours truly."

"Even though I asked the question."

"Yes."

"Get out." Marlene said, giving Skipper a shove.

"Alright, but I'll be back tomorrow." The penguin gave a wink and jumped over the wall.

"I don't like baby…" Mort grumbled.

"Why not?"

Mort jumped. He hadn't realized that Skipper approached from behind.

"U-uh…"

"You are not allowed to threaten any inhabitants of this zoo." Skipper said sternly. "Not on my watch. I want you to leave Maya alone if you know what's good for you."

"What's good?"

"Living. If you kill ANYONE in this zoo, I will not hesitate to retaliate."

"What?"

"One more time, listen carefully." Skipper's voice turned dangerously low. "If you hurt anyone here, I will make sure you are living a nightmare for the rest of your life."

"I don't like nightmares." Mort squeaked.

"Then don't put anyone in danger."

Mort nodded shakily.

Skipper grinned menacingly "Boo."

Mort shrieked and fled from the penguin.

_No one threatens my zoo. Be warned, Blowhole, I will destroy you. You threatened my home, my family, and now you're threatening the world._ "I am Skipper and I will not rest until Blowhole is brought to justice! DO YOU HEAR ME?! I WILL DESTROY YOU! AND THAT GOES FOR YOU TOO, KORU! I AM-"

"SHUT UP!"

"GO TO BED!"

"NOT ALL OF US ARE NOCTURNAL, PAL!"

"DON'T MAKE JOEY POUND YOU!"

Skipper shook his head and zipped down to his HQ. _Rest easy, I'm protecting you._

**A/N: I hope you are still into this story even though it's been a while since I updated. I will NOT abandon this story. It just takes me longer…especially now since I just realized I'm trying to write six different stories at once… I'm ultra busy with school…and another is worming its way into my head…Is there any way to ki- I mean get rid of plot bunnies? **

**I intend to make this story more dramatic, I just need to kill about three weeks of time to get to the drama again.**

**By the way…Blowhole's still out there…**

**And Koru is not dead…MWAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**So far I have tortured Skipper and Kowalski and somewhat the other two…Remember, I torture them first, and then love!**

**PS: For followers of Camaraderie, We Are The Penguins, and/or Luna's Digital Adventure. I realize that the character name of Izzy is used in all three stories. Sorry for any confusion. **

**Remember that Izzy in Camaraderie/We Are The Penguins is the same character (and my OC); a goofball with a heart of gold or something stupid like that...Izzy in Luna's Digital Adventure is Koushiro Izumi, a canon character. **


	46. Grim reunions

_Tick-tock…_

_A computer was on in a very dark room. The shadow of a figure chuckled evilly at the screen. The spy had planted a camera and the penguin's HQ was in the line of sight. They'd watched the penguins a few days previously, witnessing Mort being hit and scared out of his mind. Now it was a week to go…One week until the base was left defenseless._

"_Soon it'll be too late. Hmm…forgetting someone, Skipper? I suppose not. Oh well, I guess you'll miss out on all the fun."_

_The word 'TARGET' Appeared in front of the HQ along with a clock._

"_Tick-tock…time's running out." The figure whispered. "I think I'm gracious enough to grant you some time before I attack…I'll just wait it out…I'm being very patient, aren't I?"_

_No response came._

"_Come on, Skipper…make the game more interesting. After all, you swore to bring evil down. You have no idea, do you? Well, hurry up…I'm waiting…tick-tock…"_

**1 week later…**

"Stay safe, alright?" Marlene said as she held Tyson.

"I'll see you soon." Skipper said. "I promise to come back. I have a zoo to protect, don't I?"

Rikki and the boys loaded up the plane and hopped in. Skipper did his usual rounds to make sure everything was perfectly normal for their return.

This time, Josie had a firm hold on both Julien and Maya so neither would run off. Maurice kept an eye on Mort.

"No worries, citizens! I SHALL PROTECT YOU!" Nat shouted.

"And I shall be the valiant sidekick!" Izzy added.

"Oh great, now I'm worried." Kowalski muttered. "You two stop being so annoying!"

"You stop being so brainy!" Nat retorted.

"That's not possible!"

"Then we can't stop being annoying." Izzy said. "Wouldn't you say that's scientifically accurate?"

Kowalski rolled his eyes. "Smarty-beak…"

"I don't HAVE a beak!"

"SMARTY…UH…smarty…WHATEVER OTTERS HAVE!"

"Tails?"

"Hey, that works…SMARTY TAIL!"

"Bye, Kowalski!"

"Bye Wallykins!" Nat said.

"Safe trip!"

"We'll miss you so much!"

"I miss him already!"

"Me too!"

Both of them started wailing and holding each other.

"Drama queens…" Kowalski said.

"That's drama KING to you." Izzy said in mock hurt.

"NO ONE BUT ME IS THE KING!" Julien shouted. "I AM DE KING, THE ONLY ONE WHO IS THE KING WHICH IS ME! Did I mention I am KING?!"

"Josie, are you sure you'll be alright with all those boys, plus Maya, Nat and the baby?" Rikki asked.

"I'll be fine." Josie responded, holding tighter onto Julien who was glaring at Izzy. "I have Marlene and Mikayla to help me too."

"And us." Izzy said, throwing an arm around Nat.

"Yes." Nat said. "I can most certainly help." She gave Julien an evil look. He squeaked before trying to retain whatever dignity he had.

"Are you POSITIVE that you're alright by yourselves?" Skipper asked, eyeing Izzy, Nat, Julien, Mort, Maya, and Tyson.

"Yes." Marlene said. "We can look after ourselves, you taught us how to properly defend ourselves. Do you doubt your own teachings?"

"Sometimes."

"I'll be alright too. Since your place is locked, I'll hang out at Marlene's." Mikayla said.

"And If Blowhole dares show his ugly bottle nose, we'll kick his sorry butt out of here." Nat said.

"Yeah." Izzy said. "We're trained now."

Kowalski snickered. "Yeah, you certainly showed us yesterday."

"I had a lot to drink and the joke was funny!" Izzy said. "And I didn't mean that kind of trained."

"We'll be fine." Josie said. "Good luck to you."

"And to all of you as well." Skipper said. "Marlene, are you su-"

She pressed a paw to his beak. "I'm completely sure that we'll be fine. Yes, I'm scared that we could be attacked, but I think we can handle it. Besides, we know we can rely on you to get back as soon as possible if anything were to go wrong. Go on, your plane waits." She gave him a peck on the beak and gently pushed him to the plane.

He turned off the stealth cloak for a few seconds as the others waved. He turned it back on and they took off into the sky.

"We'll be fine, right?" Mikayla asked.

"Yeah." Josie said. She gave a little shake. "Whoa, got the chills."

"Must have been the wind from the jet." Maurice said. "Mort, don't put that in your mouth!"

_And so they left…the countdown continues…tick-tock, bird-brains…tick-tock…_

**8, 523 miles on a high speed jet later…**

"1 bottle of pop on the wall, one bottle of pop- take one down, pass it around, whoops Kowalski exploded it and NOOOW THEEEERE's no more bottles of pop on the wall, no more bottles of pop. Get me more to put on the wall or Rico will take out his chainsaw and hurt you all!" Rikki and Private sang. Two empty boxes of Peanut Butter Winkies were lying next to their chairs with wrappers littering the floor.

"WOO-HOO!" Rico cheered. The three of them burst out laughing.

Kowalski snickered from the front while Skipper's eye twitched.

"That's the third time you've sung that…HOW IS IT STILL FUNNY?!"

"Let them have their fun, they need it." Kowalski said. "We're here now."

Skipper sighed. "Alright, brace for landing."

"We're landing!" Rikki cheered.

"Laaaandiiing!" Private said. "Can I have another Peanut Butter-?"

"NO!" Skipper and Kowalski shouted.

"I guess we had too much, huh?" Rikki said. "Even though they're so stinkin' good!"

"YAY FOR WINKIES!"

"No more sugar for Private or Rikki…ever." Skipper growled.

"I concur." Kowalski said.

Rikki and Private cleaned up their mess as Skipper landed next to the ruined remains of the training field.

All four boys visibly shook as they exited the plane. Memories crept up on them, reminding them that the battle had taken place about four months ago. It still felt too soon to return to the place where they had nearly lost each other, did lose a lot of good comrades, and had been thrown into weeks worth of nightmares. Rikki wrapped her flipper around Rico's.

They walked towards the only building that was intact, the cafeteria. There were animals working on reconstructing parts of the sleeping quarters and the offices.

The cafeteria had received a few blows, but otherwise was perfectly safe to enter.

"Where are we?" Rikki asked.

"The cafeteria, weren't you paying attention?" Kowalski said.

"I'm blind, genius. If there are words, I can't read them and no one said anything out loud."

"Sorry."

"Hey, SKIPPER!" Someone shouted once the doors had been opened. "Somebody told me you went INSANE? IS IT TRUE?"

Skipper looked for the speaker and found a raccoon grinning at him.

"Yeah, nice to see you too." Skipper said.

"Insane Skipper…" The raccoon giggled, followed by a hiccup. His eyes were unfocused and he seemed to be having a hard time sitting up. "Gone off the bend…or something like that…I DON'T KNOW, I'm not Britainish…"

Private rolled his eyes. "It's British."

"And WHO told you that it alright to…to speak to your commanding *hic* officer likes that?"

"If you believe the officer is unfit for duty." Kowalski said, steering Private away.

"Bye-bye mooses! Or are they meese?"

"Ignore him; he's had too much to drink." A tired voice said.

"General Kent." The boys saluted.

"At ease soldiers." She said. "Thank you for coming, however, we postponed it again."

The penguins groaned.

"I'm sorry, but there were animals who wanted to come that couldn't make it until late Monday. The funeral will take place on Tuesday; I promise there will be no more changes."

Rikki shrugged and the boys nodded.

"Hey, Rico!" A large penguin called. "Guess what we made for you?"

"FIIIIISH!" Rico bolted to the kitchens, dragging Rikki along with him.

Kowalski spotted a group of animals wearing goggles and lab coats, furiously discussing something. A penguin spotted Kowalski and gave a friendly wave.

"Hey, we could use another brain over here." She called.

Kowalski saluted his leaders before approaching the group.

Skipper took the moment to get a better look at Sarah. Her feathers looked hastily patted down and greyer than usual. Up close, her eyes had a slightly pink tinge and dark circles under her eyes.

"Are you alright?" Skipper asked.

She turned her head and gave what looked like a forced smile.

"Yes, I'm fine."

Something in her voice told Skipper that she wasn't. It looked as if it hurt to smile, as if she hadn't since before Byron had died back in September…or was it October…August? He didn't remember…it seemed like a blur now. Maybe it was before all of this even began. Maybe her last real smile occurred before Nat and Josie had ever come to Central Park. He remembered how Tory had said Sarah wasn't available to speak directly to them as she didn't wish to be disturbed. He had a vague idea of why she had refused contact with anyone. It took a toll on her health; she did look skinnier than Kowalski which was very odd. She was usually slightly slimmer than Rico, but not this thin.

Sarah caught Skipper's expression.

"Skipper, please don't worry about me." She said. "I am merely dealing with the stress of-"

"Don't." Skipper said. "I'm sorry for the interruption, but I must ask that you not lie."

"Skipper?"

"I know how it feels to lose those close to you. I know how you feel. It was my fault, after all. I don't understand why you don't yell at me. Byron died and I caused it. I put Kowalski in a perilous situation and it backfired on me. I got nothing accomplished except further scarring my teammates and getting Byron killed. You should be furious. You should have been driven with madness, wanting to kill-"

"I have no intention of harming you." Sarah cut in.

"No, but you wanted to. But now you want to yell at me. I am the cause of your son's death. Your only son…why don't you admit that you're broken? We're all broken in some way or another. It's not a weakness, it makes you stronger. Let it out."

"Rest assured that I have taken control of everything-"

"Talk to people."

"Excuse me?"

"Talk to your soldiers. Yes, they need a strong leader, but they need to see that you know how they feel."

"I think they know-"

"They DON'T. Byron is dead and no one knows that it's MY FAULT. WHY AREN'T YOU YELLING?!"

"Why are you?"

"Huh?"

"Everyone deals with death in their own way; you've got to let it happen."

"What was Johnny to you?"

"What?"

"To me, he was like a father figure. He was my most admired teacher; he helped and encouraged me through everything. I believe he was also your advisor. Or at least, he was the only one you trusted enough with anything. Has that passed onto Zander? He may be the world's biggest jerk, but he's one penguin you could talk to. You could also talk to Jordan, she h-"

"For the last time, I do not hate you nor do I wish to yell at you."

"No, but you need to talk. Isn't that what you put me in counseling for? I couldn't feel better until I spoke to my team and my family about how I was feeling. You shouldn't keep things bottled up…it could tear you up on the inside."

Sarah had no response.

"I apologize for the interruptions." Skipper said.

"I don't think any less of you." Private squeaked.

The other two jumped, having forgotten he was there. Charlie was next to him as well as a few other animals.

"Yeah, you're our leader." Charlie said. "I'd think you didn't care if you didn't cry."

The others murmured in agreement.

"Really?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, General, you're our leader. You are the one who can help us."

"Yeah, you've been here since forever!"

"We are your loyal soldiers, we need you here."

"See?" Skipper said. "They don't care if you cry; they just need to see you get back up again."

The corners of Sarah's beak twitched.

"I promise I will be with you until the end. And I know there will be an end. I won't rest until they're destroyed." She said the last sentence loudly.

The animals burst out into cheers.

The cheering was broken by a squeal and a yell of protest.

A small penguin was biting Rico's head and refusing to let go.

Small bursts of laughter came from the previously cheering crowd as they watched Rico run around, squawking loudly while Tammy kept squealing and babbling at top speed.

Sarah rolled her eyes and looked at Skipper.

Skipper was happy to see a small smile on his leader's face. He then proceeded to attempt pulling Tammy off of Rico with the help of Private and Kowalski.

This proved a difficult task as Tammy refused to release Rico's head and managed to take a few feathers when she finally came off. Rico made it his goal to avoid her at all costs which Kowalski said was impossible due to the fact that they were only using one building.

Many seemed to find entertainment as they watched Rico challenge everyone to eat fish surprise without getting sick. He seemed satisfied once he regained his championship title that hadn't existed before he made it up…just now.

**A/N: Yes, I will have Tammy return from time to time because I said so. She's not too important to the flow of the story except for the obsession with biting Rico's head…don't go looking too much into that because no one knows why she does that…even I don't know. This story will continue! Just will be slower updates because of school and stuff…**

**Skipper: Enjoy the story, that's an order!**

**Next chapter will be the funeral scene.**

**Tammy: CHARLIE SAYS FUNERAL DOESN'T HAVE FUN EVEN THOUGH IT'S IN THE NAME!**

**Skipper: End transmission, end transmission!**

**Error…interruption…source unknown…**

_**Rest now, birds…for even in author's notes you are not safe…MWAHAHAHAHA!**_


	47. Remembrance

As the New Year had come and gone quicker than desired, so had Tuesday as it presented itself to the animals in Antarctica too soon. The animals met on the icy ruins of the training field. Usually when the entire base met on the field there were always those who had to perch on the surrounding buildings or otherwise find open alcoves to line up in as the field was crowded. This meeting only emphasized how much they'd really lost. The entire field was used, but there was actually room to breathe without someone else shuddering at the air hitting the back of their necks.

Too many were lost. Sarah felt that as she scanned the crowd from her podium. Usually it took approximately five to twenty seconds for everyone to settle down and stop talking, but this wasn't the case. No one spoke, no one sniffled, coughed, shuffled, groaned, sighed; nothing. No one made a sound as opposed to the shuffling of hundreds of animals and excited voices. This crowd was somber, anxious, scared, and alert. Even Tammy knew something was up and remained silent, though it might have had something to do with a deal that she could ride on Rico's head. Faces stared up at Sarah. Many were blank, others depicted sadness and grief.

So quiet you could hear a pin drop.

So quiet you could hear hearts shatter if they hadn't already been a long time ago.

So quiet…it was almost unbearable.

Skipper wished someone would try to crack a joke, let out a sob, say something out loud, anything but this silence. The corners of his beak twitched as he thought of how Mort could ruin the moment in two seconds flat. No one noticed him. In fact, no one was really paying attention to anything except their leader. Sarah was like a lighthouse, attracting the others to her.

The silence was broken by a crackling noise. They looked around to realize that the General had just cleared her throat.

The attention shifted in a snap. Their attention shifted faster than it would have been at a regular base-wide meeting.

"Hello, my fellow soldiers." Sarah said through a microphone attached to the podium. Her voice was surprisingly steady. "I appreciate that you all could make it here today. During the time my grandfather was placed in charge, there were over ten thousand animals in the Antarctic Force. Group meetings had been held outside the base. Unfortunately those numbers were cut down to about five hundred, not including local villagers and brand new cadets. Of those five hundred, you remain. There are around two hundred of you here today. For their safety, the villagers could not be brought in." she gave an apologetic look to Skipper.

Skipper nodded. He jumped as a flipper touched his. He turned to see Rocky looking at him with a sad smile. Skipper couldn't return it, but he squeezed her flipper.

"I have the names of the three hundred and one deaths. I shall read them off in alphabetical order." Sarah said, glancing around the field. Zander did the same from his position next to his commanding officer.

"Can I have candy?" Tammy whispered loudly as the first names were announced. A few animals nearest to them glared at her, including Kowalski.

"No, shush!" Charlie whispered back.

Tammy groaned.

Rocky leaned in close to Skipper. "Told you I'd be back." She said in a barely audible whisper. "I'm there for you."

"Me too." Skipper whispered back.

"Johnny Bone." Sarah read out loud.

Skipper froze. He hadn't thought about his former mentor in a long time. His vision became blurry as he looked at his teammates. Private had tears flowing down his face. Kowalski's eyes were wet, but he remained in control as he put a flipper around Private. Rico stared blankly at Sarah as if she'd just announced that it was impossible for him to regurgitate and store things in his gut and to stop being a psychotic pyromaniac.

Rocky held on tighter to her brother, trying to stem the tears with an already wet flipper. Many others had similar reactions including a group of females that Skipper had named 'the Johnny Bone Fan Club'. But they didn't feel the same as Rocky and Skipper did.

Skipper began to immerse himself in memories. Johnny had essentially replaced his father as an important role model from a very young age. All of his teammates were more like best friends and brothers and in Private's case, a young brother or son. But Johnny…Johnny had taken it as a personal mission to see that Skipper was raised well. They trained together and shared laughs, tears, and stories. The name actually being announced…it made it seem so finite. He was startled to hear that they'd already reached another all too familiar name.

"Leonard Johnson."

Skipper saw that Private had now buried his face in Kowalski's side and the latter had both flippers around the youngest.

"It wasn't your fault." The latter whispered to his half-brother. Kowalski's face was still unreadable. He seemed to stare as blankly as Rico and Zander. All three of them could have been statues if they didn't blink.

_Had Johnson truly died forgiving me for everything I said to him? _Skipper wondered.

"B-" The crowd made no sound apart from sniffles and muffled sobs. Sarah visibly trembled for a moment. "Byron Kent" Skipper imagined that she must have rehearsed saying Byron's name professionally. None of the animals had looks of scorn; they were as heartbroken as she was. Only one penguin had a flicker of distaste at his commander's falter.

Skipper made eye contact with Zander. He seemed to be the only one who hadn't cried. The majority of the field was crying by the time Sarah had gotten to 'J'. Most of the animals had been crying since they left the cafeteria. Zander looked as if they were at a briefing. He had no expression when Johnny's name was called, no sign of movement. Even Kowalski had moved to pat Private; Rico had scratched his butt once or twice. There was absolutely zero expression coming from Zander. Kowalski and Rico had downcast expressions at some names, especially Johnny's, even though they were trying not to show it. Zander had nothing on his face, he had no body movement and it infuriated Skipper. Did he truly hate emotion so much that he wouldn't be sad that anyone had died? Even Johnny had been respected somewhat and seemed to be a rival to Zander. But Byron had been the hardest for Sarah to have said. How long had she rehearsed it? Maybe she'd rehearsed it since they'd gone to the safe village in Brazil before Rico had regained consciousness and before Skipper was found. She must have known that she'd have to say his name and not cry.

Skipper had been right though, no one had really cared that she faltered. No one had scoffed and said that she should be stronger than them. No, she showed that she was as hurt as them because she WAS as hurt as them.

But Zander…he'd shown nothing. Did he not care? What was enough? Skipper hadn't expected the tough penguin to burst out crying, but at least he could have shown sadness. Instead he was rigid like a statue.

Skipper gave an inward growl and broke eye contact.

Time crept on as more tears flowed. Sarah did not falter again. Her voice grew slightly hoarse after Presley.

Skipper remembered the gerbil. He could almost hear the shout of correction that he was a gerbil and not a hamster.

Skipper looked around some more. He spotted the top of a red feathered head. Phoenix stood there. He couldn't tell if she was crying or not because her back was turned. He remembered with a small wince the pain she inflicted on him when he said girls couldn't fly planes. Jordan was somewhere to her right, crying on another's shoulder. _Does she forgive me for everything I did? Does she blame me for the death of her brother?_

Kowalski flinched as they came to 'T'. After an inward debate sparked by Sarah's question, he had refused for his father's name to be called. And then he changed his mind: "I'll be at peace if his name is called" Kowalski had said stiffly when he alerted Sarah of his decision.

"Ralph Taro"

Skipper saw a small smile creep onto Kowalski's face. He couldn't tell if it was a nervous reaction or if his teammate was satisfied. Kowalski looked at his leader. His eyes were red, but blank of emotion. The smile slid away and he gave a small nod to indicate that he'd talk about it later. Skipper nodded back.

At some point between 'T' and 'V', Tammy had detached herself from Rico and stood silently next to Charlie. She attempted to talk several times only to be shushed by Charlie.

Skipper was surprised at how much Charlie had grown since they first met. He was no longer a sniveling raw cadet. He was truly a soldier. Even though he hadn't been in the battle, he knew that he had to be mature and stand tall against the enemy especially now that so many of their toughest soldiers had been knocked down.

Skipper had even noted that Dan's terrible attitude had improved somewhat. Maybe the heat of battle was the only way to dig into his thick skull.

Remembering how they met the cadets brought Skipper's mind back to Central Park. He hoped everyone was alright. Marlene had called yesterday to report that it was dark and cloudy in New York, but everything was progressing as usual. Josie and Julien found out that they're having a girl, but no name had been chosen yet and she'd keep him updated. Tyson was perfectly fine, but irritated that he couldn't see his 'Dada'. He kept trying to sneak over to the penguin habitat only to be rescued by Marlene or Mikayla before the lasers came out. Nat and Julien were still fighting; Izzy was doing nothing to help even though he thought he was trying. Apparently talking sense into Nat and Julien wasn't going to work.

As they neared the end of the alphabet, Skipper noticed that Zander had become stiffer. Did he wish to leave? Maybe he really didn't care. He obviously hadn't minded working his cadets to exhaustion. He remembered the many times he had collapsed on the field only to be yelled at by the commanding officer to 'get his feathery maggot sized butt off the ground and get moving before I get ugly'. Of course Skipper had retorted that it wouldn't be much of a change and got a beating for that. He hadn't minded throwing Maya from the habitat on his unannounced visit. Skipper was still outraged by that. What does it take? Why couldn't Zander be figured out? He narrowed his eyes until the next name.

"Colleen Zander."

…

…?

Beaks and jaws dropped and heads snapped up. Even those who were blinded by tears perked up at the name.

Kowalski and Rico looked as if they'd been slapped in the face and told they were robot ballerinas. Private stared, wide eyed at Zander.

Skipper's mind raced at top speed, he saw Rocky's stunned look.

Zander looked stiffer, but had the expression that told them that he would strike them down in a millisecond if they spoke to him.

A disturbance ran through the crowd, buzzing noises surrounded them. It took a few moments to realize that people had started murmuring and whispering, stopped only by Sarah's flipper.

"Thank you for coming." She said, trying to divert the attention back to herself. "These soldiers were among the greatest I ever knew. Even in the heat of battle, when it seemed the toughest, they never stopped. Hearing stories from you who have survived, I know they didn't die in vain or cowardice. They died fighting for what's right. They died to give us another chance. I am hoping that no more fall this time around. We are in what my grandfather and father always called 'the tense between'. In this moment before whenever the final battle is, we must stick together. No matter what rivalries or other incidents that may or may not have happened, we must unify against the threat. Don't let these soldiers have died in vain. We lost too many soldiers in the last great battle, including one who was almost my second in command. I call it a battle because it's not over. We may have won, but the war is still lurking in the background. The two main leaders, Blowhole and Koru, they must be stopped. We don't know where they are hiding, but we must keep our guards up and be alert. The final battle could be soon or it could be years away. Please remain vigilant. I have complete faith in your abilities as soldiers and as fellow animals. I appreciate you for coming and you may remain as long as you wish. As you know, we have the Memorial Wall. It was destroyed in battle and we are working on restoring it. These names shall be added to the wall as well. For now, we have the cremated remains of the soldiers in this vat. We are planning on spreading it through every continent. We have, of course, saved the majority of ashes in separate containers for families to take. Please show your respect not only for the dead, but for the living. Once again, thank you for coming out here and stay if you want." She raised her flipper in salute. "Thank you, my friends."

The crowd saluted back. She saw tears glistening in most of their eyes, but she also saw admiration in their faces.

Eventually the crowd slowly moved. Some headed to talk to others, some gone to retrieve the ashes of their loved ones, some stayed put and others went back to the cafeteria.

Skipper's team was among the ones who remained rooted to the spot. Rocky and Rikki stayed with their brothers while Charlie had to drag a babbling Tammy back.

They slowly moved towards the front where Sarah was talking with other animals. Private and Rikki walked behind the others.

Kowalski jumped as something touched him. He turned, but no one was looking at him. It was cold and wet. He looked up to get a drop of rain in his eye. Surprised, he looked at Skipper who gave him a blank-faced shrug.

It begun to drizzle as they moved along. Zander stood like a statue next to Sarah, staring blankly at the horizon.

"Was it Dad?" Rocky asked hoarsely.

Skipper blinked and turned to his sister with a confused look.

"The soldier she said was almost her second in command?"

"Yes." Skipper said.

"He also taught Johnny."

"Dad taught Zander and Bone. He was a year below Sarah; I think he even tutored her sometimes. I think that if he had scored higher on the Antarctic Force entry exam, he might have outranked her."

"And I promised that he could be my second in command even when he was juggling three sons by the end of our first year training." Sarah said. "That's also what put him slightly behind. He was extremely paranoid and decided to raise a family right away. Apparently he learned the hard way that kids and a young wife were very demanding."

Rocky gave a small smile.

"Did Johnny ever tell you the story of how your dad caught him and Ryan running around the place?"

"Ryan?" Skipper looked at Zander.

"Believe it or not, Johnny was a close comrade." Zander barked.

"Comrade?" Sarah said. "You guys were practically brothers. Inseparable best friends."

"BEST FRIENDS?!" Rocky and the boys exclaimed.

"Best frie- oh come on, you have to warn me!" Rikki pouted, glaring at them. Or at least where she thought she was glaring. She was actually glaring at a pair of cadets nearby. They backed away nervously, not knowing who she was but knowing Rico.

Rico snickered.

Rikki slapped the air and heard a grunt as it was dodged.

"Not Rico." Kowalski said.

"Sorry, where is my brother?" She slapped the other side and heard a high pitched yelp.

"Again, not Rico."

"Sorry, Private. Rico, I will get you." She said, glaring the opposite way.

"You actually do have a fierce glare." Rocky said. "Rico's in front of you."

"Hey-oof!" He was slapped in the back. "Hey!"

"Do NOT laugh at me." Rikki said menacingly. Rico mumbled an apology.

"Best friends?" Private repeated.

"Yes maggot, now stop asking questions." Zander scowled.

"I only asked one." Private squeaked. The older penguin gave him a harsh glare. "Did Johnny teach Byron too?"

"Yeah," Skipper said with a grin "Byron was just a couple of years below me, but he flew through the training courses. You should have seen Zander's face; he thought Johnny was going too easy on his cadets."

"Easy? I remember hard training exercises and having a good time." Kowalski said. "He did make us smile and laugh, but his training wasn't easy if you didn't listen to his instructions."

"Who's Colleen?" Skipper asked.

Zander's cold eyes pierced Skipper's deep blue ones. Neither of them faltered or broke contact.

"She was my sister." Zander said, using the same harsh tone.

"She disappeared after the battle and her body was found about two weeks ago." Sarah said.

"But make no mistake, I am not weak. I am not about to dissolve into tears and break down like a raw cadet. I am proud that she died in battle as it is the honorable way she could have-"

"HONOR?!" Skipper shouted. "You're proud that she's dead?"

"I said I was proud of why she died, not that she was dead." Zander growled, his tone becoming dangerously deeper.

"You're not sad at all. You had that look on your face when Sarah struggled to say Byron's name."

"RESPECT YOUR SUPERIORS BY CALLING THEM THEIR RANK!" Zander yelled.

"RESPECT THE DEAD AND SHOW EMOTION!" Skipper screamed. "If Rocky had died, I would have been beside myself; anger and grief tearing me up inside. Go on and tell me you're not the least bit sad over her death."

The ends of Zander's flippers curled. "I am not about to show weakness." He seethed.

"Grief isn't a weakness, apathy is." Skipper said. "Grief allows you to become stronger. By expressing emotion-"

"I DON'T NEED A SPEECH FROM A PATHETIC CHILD LIKE YOU!"

"Stop this immediately, this is neither respectful nor helpful." Sarah said. "Did either of you listen to what I had just said?"

"Is that your 'teacher' tone?" Private asked. Sarah gave a short nod.

Zander had no answer and Skipper resumed glaring.

"Kowalski, enlighten me as to what I had said." Sarah said.

"Yes ma'am. I believe it was something along the lines of: whether the oncoming final battle is near or far, we must unite against the enemy or we don't stand a chance. If we don't put personal matters behind, we may as well have said these animals died in vain." Kowalski said.

"Very good, Kowalski."

Zander growled, and then remembered who was addressing them. "Yes General, I will listen."

"I am sorry, Sa- General Kent." Skipper said.

"I'm still not going to be their best buddy." Zander said.

Skipper smirked. "With all due respect, I don't give-"

Sarah cut him off with a look. "There is one more thing I must ask of you four."

"Yes?"

"There are new cadets who have heard of you and formed a sort of fan club. Would you mind speaking with them? They need the help."

"Certainly." Skipper said. "It is my duty to help, though we shouldn't stay long as I do have a girlfriend and young child waiting for me as well as a zoo to protect."

"We'll try to get your plane running as soon as possible."

A few hours after they had landed late Friday afternoon, Kowalski noticed an odd sound and when he checked it out there was a squished mango inside. After cursing out certain lemurs under his breath, he discovered that the juice had gotten all over important parts of the machinery. They were lucky to have landed in Antarctica with ease. The engine caught on fire when an oil leak met a spark. The engine was intact for the most part, but a few key components had to be replaced completely. Kowalski had a set plan in mind to interrogate the lemurs and then chew out whichever one did it. His main suspects were Julien, Mort, and Nat.

When they entered the cafeteria, Rikki was invited to speak to a few animals that had lost their sight during the battle. Some been partially blinded and some completely blinded. She grinned and told them stories about how she grew up from the age of eight, completely blind.

Rocky and the boys approached a large group of cadets. They were whispering excitedly and gasped with delight as the older penguins approached.

Rico eyed Tammy warily as she opened her beak.

"HI RICO!" She screamed.

"Please take me away…" Charlie mumbled, scooting away from the annoying penguin.

"Hello cadets." Skipper said.

The group quieted down and saluted back.

"M-Mr. Skipper sir? W-what rank are you?" A young penguin asked.

"Technically, I would be your Commander." Skipper said.

"Wow." A young leopard gasped.

"What's your name?" Skipper asked the penguin.

The younger penguin trembled at being addressed. He hadn't even expected Skipper to look at him let alone answer the question…now the Commander wanted his name…

"I-uh…I'm…um…I-"

"Robbie." Charlie said. "You're Robbie."

"R-right…Yes sir, Commander Skipper sir, I'm Robbie, sir." The penguin said, throwing his flipper up in salute. "Ow!" he'd done it too fast.

"At ease, soldier." Skipper said.

"Mr. Kowalski, is it true you're a super genius?" The leopard asked. "My name's Jess, sir."

"Well Jess, I don't like to brag-" He heard his teammates stifle snickers. "But I am pretty brilliant."

"Wow." Jess said.

A few cadets approached Rico to feel his flipper muscles.

A couple of cadets started talking to Kowalski about science right away.

The rest of the cadets were gathered around Rocky and Skipper, firing question after question at them. They asked about former Lt. Commander Sorenson, his three eldest sons, Johnny Bone, Byron Kent, and the training requirements and how Zander's lessons were.

Private and Charlie had snuck away from the group with Tammy being dragged with them. They had to pry her from Rico who desperately needed space from the craziness.

"Can I PLEASE come back to Central Park?" Charlie asked. "Johnny was teaching me, but I've been in the village since the battle started and I haven't had much time to do anything but sit in the Cadet lesson. I preferred your lessons."

"Well, we did help a group of animals go through with a mission. Most of them had no training whatsoever." Private said. "Even Julien did well on that mission. And I bet you'd like to meet Tyson."

"Tyson?"

"Yeah, Skipper and Marlene adopted him. He's a baby penguin."

"Wow, I love babies. Does Maya remember me?"

Private scratched his head, "I'm not sure, but maybe you can come visit. Mikayla could use company when we're on missions."

"I remember her…I think. She's not the crazy one is she?"

"Oh no, dear gosh, no."

"Oh good, I forgot her name. Who cares though, she was HORRIBLE and squeezed my cheeks and called me cute. Well, I'm not mad about the 'cute' comment, but only when it's overused. I really want to come back again."

"You know Skipper would put you through intense training."

Charlie grinned. "I'm ready for whatever he's got. He's better than Zander."

Private smiled back. They shook flippers and headed back inside to find that Tammy had snuck back in and Rico was running around, trying to throw her off.

"By the way, what happened to Nora?" Private whispered, looking around to make sure Kowalski hadn't heard him.

"I don't know, I never saw her."

Rocky had managed to pull Tammy off and was lecturing the cadets about proper approaches to senior officers. Charlie waved and went off to join Rocky, hoping to help where he could.

Skipper and his team headed over to where Sarah was looking through a book.

She looked up to see them and invited them over with a smile.

The boys noticed that it was a picture book. The page she was on depicted a young, dirty penguin giving his mother a hug.

"Byron…" Sarah said. "I promise I'll be alright." She gave a light laugh and turned to the front of the book.

A younger looking Sarah held her egg while a few soldiers looked on in awe.

Another picture was a formal looking military picture with a baby penguin sitting on top of Sarah's head.

"Taken after the professional photo." Sarah commented.

The boys nodded and continued.

The next page had family photos; they were mostly of Byron and Sarah playing around. One had Byron's face covered in a hat that looked huge on him and a male penguin was laughing at him. The same male was in another picture; he had Byron and another penguin in his flippers and got ready to slide down an icy slide-like slope while four other penguins waited behind him.

"Familiar?" Sarah asked. She spotted Rocky and motioned for her to come.

"What's up?" Rocky saw the picture and gasped. "D-Dad?"

Sarah nodded. "Byron and I visited your family often. Your father was a very good friend."

Tears flowed down Rocky's face. Skipper was around the age of two in the picture and Byron had been a few weeks old. The penguins waiting in line ranged from youngest to oldest: Rocky, Brian, Toby, and Chris. All of them were grinning cheekily and Toby had a devilish expression on his face.

More pictures saw more of Byron and the Sorensons. There was one picture of Sarah and Byron in a family picture. Skipper looked to be around four.

Skipper braced himself. He knew that Sarah and Byron had to leave and then a week later the village was attacked.

A few pages later had Rocky and Skipper looking downcast and a young two year old Byron trying to cheer them up.

There were more pictures of Byron growing up and Sarah right there with him.

Over the years, Byron had grown more adventurous to the point where Sarah had to put a guard on him until he started listening. He, like Skipper, was one of the few who could eat fish surprise and be happy that he did after he threw up. A photo contained Byron showing the disgusting meal to his mother.

"Pardon me, I don't mean to be nosy or anything…" Private said. "B-but I wonder…I've always wondered…well…er…"

"What is it?" Sarah asked.

"W-what happened to Byron's father?"

Sarah looked surprised. "I haven't been asked that since…well, since Byron asked me."

"He always told me that Johnny was his dad, then he changed it to he didn't know."

Sarah laughed. "No, it wasn't Johnny. No matter how much he wanted it to be, no…His father, well I actually never got to know him very well. One of my missions when I was younger was to go undercover at a zoo in Australia. To seem normal, I allowed for myself to participate in the breeding program. I don't know what the full story is, but basically his father is an unknown penguin somewhere in Russia. I did attempt to look for him, but I didn't have a name or anything. I have DNA tests ready to compare. I'm waiting for those that match half of Byron's DNA. I know he was the same age as me and what country he was from…nothing else. To Byron's immense relief, it wasn't Zander either. I actually hadn't met Zander until the day I laid Byron's egg."

"Russia's an awfully big country to look for one penguin." Private said. "Are you still waiting?"

"I actually have two field agents in Russia; they're currently tracking his whereabouts. They send me coordinates and information at all times in case he's found. No such luck yet. I actually haven't heard from those agents in months now. They might have been called to battle, but their names aren't recorded."

"What are their names?"

"I'm sorry, Private, that's classified information. It's more of a personal mission and even more so now that my baby is gone."

Rocky and the boys nodded in understanding. She wanted to be able to tell this unknown penguin what became of his son.

"We'll win this for him." Kowalski said. "We'll win this for all of them."

Sarah smiled. "Thank you, Kowalski."

**A/N: I appreciate you reading this chapter. Please tune in next time.**

**By the way, you can finish Skipper's "I don't give-" statement, before he got cut off, however you want. I finished it with either 'a hoot' or a 'care in the world'. But whatever pops into your brain is okay with me.**

**No, Charlie, Mikayla is not the crazy one. The crazy one is long gone and you can forget about her…quick, forget I even put the crazy one (not Tammy) in my story.**

**One…two…poof! Reader forgot crazy character that might have been a little…tiny…smidge…mar-**

**Kowalski: DON'T SAY IT! Don't say it, don't acknowledge it, just move on.**

**But seriously if any of my characters are…ma-ry-su-e…please tell me which ones and if I can improve them. If they are too far gone to be improved, I can get rid of them.**

**Kowalski: Oh for heaven's sake! We meant mary-sue- ACK! I said it! Urgh…I'll be in my lab after this author's note is over.**

**Well, get ready for an awesome next chapter!**

**Kowalski: By this point she has all the other characters tied up and muffled. I am under threat not to spoil the next chapter…oh dear gosh I'm scared…help me…**


	48. Too little, too late

**WARNING: Character death and mention of blood**

Two days later found the penguins itching to go home. The plane was near completion and could possibly be flown out the next day or sometime during the weekend. Marlene had contacted them to say that there was a storm coming in. Mort had also found the radio that Josie kept hidden. It appeared in Burt's habitat, having been stomped on by the unsuspecting elephant. It wasn't until she mentioned Alice having another argument with Jack that Kowalski remembered a question he'd had nearly a week ago.

He approached Sarah, hoping she could help.

"I think I recall you asking me if you could research something while you were here." She said.

"Yes, it's rather important." Kowalski said. "May I use your computer?"

"The only computer is being used." She pointed to a dog and cat fighting over the computer.

"My turn!" The young cat said brightly.

"No way!" The dog said, grabbing the screen.

"Let me play!"

"You got a chance."

"Yeah for five seconds!"

"No, you've played for an hour and I've only been here for twenty minutes."

"Down, Fido!"

"My name is NOT Fido."

"I don't care. I want computer. Gimme!"

"You just want to play with the mouse."

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"My turn!"

"Mine!"

"How about my turn?" Kowalski said.

The cat and dog looked at each other and backed away.

"Thank you."

"Sure, can I have it back when you're done?" The dog asked.

"Yes."

"You're cute!" The cat said, rubbing her face on Kowalski's flipper.

Kowalski cringed. "Please refrain from doing that."

"Aww, why?"

"It's disturbing."

"AHAHAHAHAHA!" The dog bent double with laughter. "You're very disturbing."

The cat hissed.

"I can't even growl- It's too hilarious!"

"Shut it, Fido!"

"My name's not Fido! Don't you know my name by now? I mean, we do work on the same team, Mrs. Lady Coco Doll Sweetie."

The cat gagged. "Ugh…why did they call me that? I'd rather have been called Mittens or not been placed with a family."

"Relax, Sally, I feel the same way. I actually wouldn't mind if they called me Fido, but they went with Sir Harrison Connor Maxwell Xavier."

"Hey, do you mind?" Kowalski interrupted. "Concentrating here."

"Sorry." Sally said.

"By the way, were you two placed in the same family?"

"Yup." Sally said. "Dave and I are on the same team too." She said, indicating the still-grumpy dog.

"…wouldn't have minded being called Dave or Max…" Dave grumbled.

"Alright, cool."

The two left Kowalski alone and the rest of the group quickly became uninterested.

"What's up?" Private asked. He had waited a few minutes to approach his brother.

"Looking for information on Jack Sullivan."

"Oh." Private remembered something. "Hey, we were going to try to find Izzy's sister after this, right?"

"Huh?" Kowalski said. Kowalski had several tabs opened and sped through columns. "Yeah, sure, right after this…just gotta run DNA tests…I'm pretty sure it might be Marlene…You never know…some things-"

His brow furrowed as he stopped on a recently opened tab.

"No…this can't be right." He muttered to himself.

Private looked to see a picture of the newest employee at the zoo. A few minutes passed without a word exchanged between the two. Private wanted to know what was going on.

"What's wrong?"

"He's dead."

"How? Marlene just told us about the argument yesterday morning."

"That's the freaky part." Kowalski breathed. He sat up in his chair, face blank of emotion.

"K-Kowalski." Private squeaked. "Skippa!"

Skipper had been having a conversation with Rocky, but both looked up to see Private looking concerned.

The two of them, along with Rico and Rikki, approached the brothers.

"What happened?" Skipper asked.

"Jack Sullivan died-"

"But how's that possible?"

"You didn't let me finish."

"Sorry, go on."

Kowalski inhaled deeply and made eye contact with his leader. "Jack Sullivan, the same new employee at Central Park died. He died seven years ago in a car accident."

Beaks dropped as the penguins stared at the tallest.

"What?" Skipper said hoarsely.

"His obituary." Kowalski said, indicating the screen. The others moved to see it. "Jack Sullivan, hard working employee at this wonderful Arizona zoo has died today. Struck by a car going over the speed limit, his death was immediate."

"H-he's dead?" Private gasped.

"But how did he come to Central Park?"

"Rico, radio!"

Rico immediately hacked the portable radio and handed it to Skipper.

"Marlene?" Skipper said. "Please come in, this is urgent."

Nothing but static responded.

"Marlene? Mikayla? Ringtail? Hey, this is Skipper calling Central Park, come in Central Park."

No response

"Is anybody there?" His heart beat fast, dread coursing through his body. Usually someone answered immediately. "Nat? Izzy? Will somebody please respond?"

The others looked nervously at the device as it emitted static.

"What's going on?" Rikki asked, staring at Rico's left foot.

Rico directed her head to the radio in Skipper's flippers.

"Why isn't anyone answering?" Private said.

"IF ANYONE HEARS THIS, PLEASE PICK UP! SAD-EYES, MAURICE, BECKY, STACY EVEN JOEY!" Skipper yelled, causing everyone to jump. "GO TO THE OTTER HABITAT AND ANSWER ME!"

Minutes passed of staring at the unresponsive device.

"Maya, it's Sippy, are you there?"

"Not even Maya…" Rocky gasped.

"Tyson? Tyson it's Dada, wake up so Mama can get you."

"Nobody…" Private said. "They can't all be out, can they?"

"That's a negative; it would be Tyson's bedtime. If this device is where it should be, he would have woken up and we would have been replied to."

"Is everything alright?" Sarah asked, having approached them. She saw their scared faces. "What's wrong?"

"No one's responding." Private said.

"We need the plane, now." Rocky said.

Skipper pounded a few buttons. "Base, initiate emergency protocol! Protect the zoo at all costs." he shouted.

"Protocol initiated." A deep voice came through the radio. They heard the blare of the alarm.

"We have to go." Skipper said.

"I must warn you that the plane hasn't had a test flight yet." Kowalski said.

"Yeah thanks, let's go." Skipper said hurriedly.

The boys rushed to the plane with Rocky and Rikki in tow. They hopped in and Skipper immediately began the takeoff sequence.

Kowalski contacted the base. "Base, Lt. Commander Kowalski Taro requesting progress report."

"Progressing…" The base responded. "Process complete. Report: Threat no longer present."

"Threat? What was the threat?" Skipper asked. "Full report." The plane took off as soon as the runway had cleared.

"Threat unknown. Damage- minimal. Injuries- unknown. Deaths- uncertain."

"Uncertain?" Kowalski asked.

"Scanning zoo perimeter."

"The base should never be uncertain."

"Dangers within perimeter- none. Damage within perimeter- minimal. Injuries within perimeter-several, Deaths within perimeter- one dead, one nearing death."

"That's why, someone's dying and it didn't know how to say that." Kowalski said hoarsely. "One dead…"

Skipper gripped the controls, his focus on the direction of New York. But he couldn't help repeating the words in his brain. "One dead."

"Why does this happen when we leave?" Private whimpered.

"Obviously someone doesn't like you guys." Rikki said.

"We'll figure this out." Rocky whispered, hugging Private.

"I hope the base is wrong for once." Kowalski said. _Who did we lose? Did I lose another one of my childhood friends? Nat did quit their side to join ours so I imagine they're cheesed. Is it Marlene? Good gravy, I hope not. Who was it then? Did Mort actually try to off Maya? I know he wanted to get rid of her…did he succeed? Did Tyson wander off and drown? What happened to make them stop responding? Jack Sullivan…he's supposed to be dead…did he kill one of the animals…or maybe a human? Will the humans suspect something? Did he kill Alice after whatever argument they had?_

"Kowalski."

Private's voice snapped him out of his concentration.

"You two might want to see this." Rocky said.

Skipper put the plane in stealth mode and switched to autopilot and joined his sister.

They were huddled around Rikki's smart phone, watching the news. A familiar reporter stood in front of Central Park. He held an umbrella as it drizzled.

"If you're just joining us, we're at the gates of Central Park Zoo." Chuck Charles said. "This is Chuck Charles and I'm reporting some sort of explosion taking place here. Recent eyewitness reports are that a new employee by the name of Jack Sullivan reportedly attacked escaped animals. Bonnie's in the studio with new information, Bonnie?"

The camera switched. "Bonnie here, apparently this man wasn't human at all." The penguins exchanged looks. "Apparently a robot who took the identity of a long passed man and stationed himself at this zoo. No one knows why or how the robot came to be, but we know that something odd is going on. This isn't the first time an explosion has occurred at this zoo. Back in August there was a gas main explosion somewhere near the penguin habitat and a few animals got loose. Luckily a friendly citizen by the name of Sarah Kent was able to help us locate the missing animals. Why have there been incidents like these? Back to Chuck who is coming in with eyewitness report."

"Thank you, Bonnie." Chuck said. "I'm here with the woman in charge of the zoo. Alice can you tell us what happened?"

"I'm not sure, but I think the penguins have something to do with it. It's always them and now they're missing." Alice said. "I think the lemurs must have gotten out and Jack was chasing them. I didn't see anything until he used a strange electric rod. As far as I know, only animal control officers use them."

"An electric rod? Is that what harmed the animals."

"That and when the robot exploded."

"And you have no idea how his being a robot escaped notice?"

"I don't. I just thought we had a new employee."

"Did he do anything suspicious previously?"

"He nearly drowned the baby penguin we got and he showed poor skills. I would have fired him, but we were understaffed."

"Do you have any idea of the future of Central Park Zoo?"

Alice sighed. "This is getting out of control. I think that we might have to close the zoo if we don't figure out what's going on."

"There you have it, more on this story as it develops." Chuck said. "The main questions are: How did this robot come to be? Why did the life of an animal have to be taken? Are the penguins truly behind this? And will Central Park Zoo close indefinitely? Again, we will have to investigate further."

"Oh no, we're doomed." Private said. "They're suspicious."

"Yeah, it's a sticky situation." Kowalski sighed heavily.

"They didn't tell us who died." Skipper growled.

"We'll find out." Rocky said. "We're here."

Skipper opened the hangar and the plane slid in.

"Progress report update: two dead." The base announced as the plane stopped.

The penguins hopped out and entered the base. Skipper bolted out immediately with the others on his trail.

They took in the surroundings. There was trash everywhere and the smell of burnt metal reached them. Everything was also wet. Beads of water ran down the sides of the trash cans and light posts. Small circles in the water around their habitat indicated disturbances from the rain. The ground was flooded with an inch of water now seeping into the sewers.

They entered Marlene's habitat to find Tyson sleeping in his crib. Becky and Stacy were there, they looked surprised to see the penguins.

"Sippy!" Maya squealed from Stacy's arms.

"Marlene, where?"

"Hospital." Becky said weakly. Her fur looked ruffled and her eyes were puffy and red. "You should know something-"

But the penguins had already left. She sighed and tried to engage Maya in a game.

It was too quiet. The lemurs weren't playing or doing anything. There was a broken radio near an overturned trashcan. Kowalski knew immediately that that was why Marlene hadn't responded. The radio had broken before she had the chance to tell the penguins. The only sound came from the echoing sewers as water made its way down there.

They entered the building and saw a group of animals huddled around another. They were all crying. Nat had her face buried into Izzy's shoulder. Mort and Maurice looked shaken. Mikayla's eyes were full of tears and she fell on the first penguin she saw.

"Oh no…" Kowalski groaned as he saw the fallen animal. He felt Mikayla next to him, but he couldn't keep his eyes off the animal in front of him.

Rocky whispered into Rikki's ear hole and both of them had watery eyes. Private let a tear escape his eyes as well.

The animal came into Skipper's sight as he approached. He saw Julien covering his face, muttering that it was his fault. A furry arm wrapped around him, a calming voice trying to talk to the lemur king.

The still figure drew their eyes. Her eyes were blankly staring back at them, mouth slightly ajar. Skipper reached over and closed her eyes and mouth. She still felt warm. His flipper went over her wet neck and chest. No pulse. No heartbeat. She didn't look pale yet; maybe she had died moments before they arrived…maybe even just before they entered the building.

Skipper stood back to get a better look; she looked like she could be sleeping except for her outward appearance. Her fur was matted and soaked; there was blood on her tail and legs.


	49. Stages of grief

Julien looked at the animal and tried to take deep breaths. "I-" he trembled and fell against the comforting arms once again. "M-Ma…I c-"

"I only knew her a short while…" Mikayla said softly. "But she was very nice."

"It's hard to deal with this sort of thing." Izzy said.

"She was one of us." Kowalski said. "She may have come from across the country, but she still became a New Yorker."

"How could I let this happen?" Skipper asked.

No one answered; they simply stared at the dead animal as if she would get up and start chatting with them.

"It's my fault…I'm sorry…" Skipper said. "I should never have left…should have been more suspicious of that thing…"

Rocky put a flipper around him. "It's not your fault." She whispered. "Honestly, it's not."

"I-I just can't believe this. Why? Why did this happen?"

It was hard to take in that one of their fellow zoo animals had died. Even more so, they knew immediately who the other dead animal was.

"Ask HIM." Julien snarled, pointing an accusing finger at Mort.

Mort gulped. "I-I did it."

"What?" Skipper asked. He glared menacingly at the small lemur.

"I-I didn't mean to." Mort said. "I only let Maya out so she go away for a while."

"He let Maya out." Maurice said furiously. "It would have been easy to get her back if that robot thing hadn't started chasing her with that stupid electric stick."

"And she chased after Maya?" Skipper asked, pointed at the fallen animal.

"And got hit by the stick. That's what did it."

"She received a great shock." Kowalski said. "And the baby died?"

"Not immediately." Maurice said, choking up a little.

"She went into labor and was forced to deliver the baby." Nat said.

"I didn't even get to see her eyes!" Julien wailed. Marlene tightened her grip as if afraid he'd hurt himself.

"It put too much of a strain on her body and…" Nat stopped.

"Josie…" Julien cried. "My Queen…my Josie…my baby…I DIDN'T GET TO HOLD HER OR NAME HER AT ALL! I barely got to see her."

Footsteps sounded from the other room and everyone except Julien bolted.

"Ringtail!" Skipper called.

"He was allowed to stay." Marlene explained, giving Skipper a kiss. "You had me worried."

Skipper shook his head. "I was afraid of this…why was a life taken from my zoo? It's my fault." He remembered Josie's assurances that they'd be fine. "'Good luck to you'…that's the last thing I ever heard her say…what were her last words?" He turned to Maurice.

"I don't know, Julien was the only one with her when she passed. Speaking of, I'm nervous about Julien's emotional mentality." Maurice said. "He might try to kill Mort."

"He'll have to bring him back to life first." Skipper said, giving a menacing look.

"Skipper, don't do anything rash-" Marlene said.

"I told him. I warned him what would happen if he tried this." Skipper growled. "Now I have to figure out how to make him live in a nightmare for the rest of his life."

"Maybe we can transfer him to Hoboken." Kowalski suggested.

"I think he'd actually like that." Maurice said. "He is pretty insane. But I don't think violence is the answer."

"It is when violence starts it." Skipper said. "Haven't you ever heard of the saying 'put fire out with fire'? It's the same thing."

"Resolve violence by acting violently?"

"Exactly, Maurice."

Maurice shook his head, and then looked up. "Where did Mort go?"

The penguins made a beeline for the otter habitat.

They found Maya and Tyson chasing each other around and the badgers were watching them with amused expressions.

"Mama?" Maya asked as she saw the penguins. She stopped abruptly.

"Eh!" Tyson squeaked. He hadn't been expecting the sudden stop and collided into Maya, sending them both to the ground.

"Enh!"

"Owie!"

Skipper sighed in relief and he picked Tyson up.

"Dada." The small penguin said.

"Dada?" Maya asked, looking around for Julien. "Mama! Dada! Mowie!"

Maurice entered the cave. "Hey, Maya." He said, trying to smile.

"Mowie, Dada? Weh Ah Dada? "

"Dada's coming later, okay?"

"Cwabye?"

"Sure, it's classified." Skipper told the young lemur.

"Pengy! Pengy Sippy!"

"Did you hear?" Marlene asked. "They're thinking about closing the zoo…indefinitely."

Skipper sighed and looked towards the mouth of the cave. "I wouldn't blame them if they did."

Days went by with no sign of reopening. Josie's burial had been a short one as they'd only really known her about a year. Rico had managed to smuggle the cremated remains of Josie and the baby out of the zoo hospital and helped the others dig a small hole. The hole was right under a tree; more specifically the fake tree in the lemur habitat which was the exact spot Maya was born. A cross was carved into the tree and a small one lay next to it. Condolences were given to Julien, but no one was quite sure if he could hear them or not as he seemed spaced out.

Julien began to hide himself away, not wanting to speak to or see anyone. Kowalski said this was one of the five stages of grief.

Maya became frustrated because she couldn't find her dad, and Mort was scared. Mort had essentially disappeared. Barely anyone saw the small lemur. He was possibly hiding due to Skipper's threat. Something must have finally clicked with the threat of the penguin and the lemur didn't want to be put into eternal nightmares.

Mort had completely disappeared once Julien entered the second stage of grief: Anger. One could practically feel the flames of rage emanating from the lemur king. He looked truly terrifying. Dark shadows appeared under his eyes and his eyes took on a darker orange tone. It was as if he'd turned into another lemur. He screamed at anyone who would even look his direction, forcing Maurice to let Maya live at the otter habitat for a while. Julien wouldn't let any humans near him and hissed and snapped at everyone and everything. He kept yelling for Mort and laughing quite insanely.

By the third week after Josie's death, Julien was the most avoided animal in the zoo. Just about every animal in the zoo except for Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, Marlene, Nat, Rikki, and Rocky were scared of the furious lemur. Kowalski, Marlene, Rikki, and Rocky were mostly afraid of what he could do to himself and, if he ever found him, Mort. Skipper and Rico didn't find anything to fear; Skipper didn't believe that Julien could actually intentionally harm anyone and Rico simply found it silly to fear the most ridiculous animal in the zoo. Nat just didn't care what happened to Julien. Not to say she didn't feel bad for the loss, she had traveled to the zoo with Josie and grew comfortable in her presence. She just didn't believe that he should still be angry.

Finally around the third week of March, Julien passed into the next stage of grief: Bargaining. It was a short stage for him. He still remained oblivious to the other animals, but no longer yelled at them. He kept muttering like a madman though. He would suddenly burst out laughing as if Josie told him a joke, and then clutch his stomach in pain and howl. Occasionally, a few words had made it out of the lemur's rambling. From those words, Maurice heard a name that Julien had never spoken before. They were pretty sure that it was for his lost daughter whose name finally came out: Juliana Claire Makyhira. This made Julien even sadder as he realized that he could have finally had JJ, a female one, but a JJ nonetheless. She had been HIS baby. He had lost his baby and began to dip into the next stage of grief: depression. He kept trying to bargain, but depression held him back.

The zoo hadn't come to a standstill after Josie's death, no, life went on. Maya began to spend more time at either the penguin or otter habitats with Tyson. Alice was still reconsidering the closure of the zoo. If she decided that it was too dangerous, they could all be separated and moved into different homes. The other animals tried to brace themselves for whatever news came their way. Mort made a very uneventful return to Central Park after a long disappearance.

Skipper had spent the weeks of Julien's anger stage trying to find the small lemur only to have him show up. Mort, it transpired, had been taking refuge in the sewers. He was shaking and soaked to the bone. He apologized repeatedly, but everyone ignored him. The penguin concluded that the terrors that Mort had experienced as well as the stinky damp sewer hideout were deemed a worthy punishment, but the lemur would also be ignored for an unspecified amount of time.

Kowalski spent the time in his lab; he had gathered DNA from Izzy and Marlene and began tests immediately. He also sent a message out to California, hoping one of the animals would be able to crack his hidden code. He was happy to discover that there was a scientist there too who was delighted to have the opportunity to speak with Kowalski. Spending late nights, he discovered that Marlene's parents were still alive. The scientist took blood tests and sent them to Kowalski. The only missing factor was Izzy's mother. He would have to work around that.

"PRIVATE!" Kowalski shouted.

"What blew up?" Private asked with a jump.

"Nothing, please retrieve Izzy, Nat, Marlene, and whoever the heck wants to come. I've got an answer."

"Okay." Private said. He gave Kowalski a look of concern before jumping out of the hatch and into the sunlight. It was a pretty nice day outside, but one could hardly fail to notice the doom and gloom of the lemur habitat as Julien paced the base of his throne, muttering to himself.

"Marlene!" Private called, having noticed the otter climbing the habitat wall. "Kowalski wants to tell Izzy something. Could you and Nat come too?"

"Sure!" Marlene said.

"WHY ARE YOU HAPPY?" Julien bellowed. "THE KING ORDERS YOU TO BE SILENT AND-"

"STUFF IT!" Nat shouted. "Stop being a sad sack."

Julien ignored her and resumed his pacing.

Soon, all the penguins were in Kowalski's lab along with Nat, Izzy, and Marlene. Maya and Tyson played around in the playpen.

"Alright, I have gathered you here to inform you of the results regarding my research."

"What?" Mikayla asked.

"In English, Einstein." Skipper and Nat said simultaneously.

"Jinx, you owe me a soda." Nat said. Skipper rolled his eyes.

"Well?" Marlene asked.

"Yeah, what's going on?"

"Although I was missing a key factor, I have narrowed the DNA tests and managed to find a commonality. You see, there is one constant in this chart" He pointed to his dry-erase board. "That says Marlene's father indeed passed on more-er-genes," he glanced at Private. "To another baby which happened to be Izzy's mo-"

"CONGRATULATIONS!" Nat shouted, smearing the marker with her paw. "Marlene, meet your little half-brother. Izzy, this is your older half-sister." She glared at Kowalski. "That's all you had to say."

"Emma would have let me continue." Kowalski said.

"No she wouldn't."

"Yes she would."

"Wow, so we're siblings." Izzy said over the bickering. "Should we throw a party?"

"I don't know." Marlene said. "I'm already planning Maya's birthday party."

"Wait, that's still happening?" Mikayla asked.

"No she wouldn't!"

"Yeah she would!"

"Of course." Marlene said loudly. "It's the way Josie would have wanted it to be."

"She wouldn't!"

"She would!"

"WOULD NOT!"

"WOULD TOO!"

"OKAY, MARLENE." Mikayla said over the argument. "I'LL KEEP HELPING-"

"NUH-UH!"

"YEAH-HUH!"

"NUH-UH!"

"YEAH-HUH!"

Skipper motioned for the others to leave as he retrieved an air horn from Rico's gut.

Private and Rico grinned. None of the others understood why.

Skipper glanced out into the main room. Once the base had been cleared, Skipper put on earmuffs.

He sighed and pressed the button. A loud and long drone came from the horn.

The effect was immediate. Kowalski jumped out of his seat and onto the ground, covering his ear holes. Nat spun wildly around, crashing into the dry erase board which toppled onto her.

The sound echoed even after Skipper had released the button. He took off his earmuffs and counted in his head.

Three…

"WHAT THE HECK?" Nat shouted with her hands firmly on her ears.

"ABALDNIOEOIJNBISCUITBONGOSODGHLSGJ!" Kowalski babbled.

"Now that you've decided to act your age instead of a couple of children-"

"WHAT?"

"CAN'T HEAR YOU! YOU WANT A CUP OF MILDRED?"

"HUH? WHO'S MILDRED?"

"WHAT? WHY ARE WE DREADING A CUP MILL?"

"NO THANKS, I DON'T WANT A CUP OF MILK."

Skipper shook his head and left them to their own devices, which meant leaving them down there until they could hear themselves again.

Private watched as his leader exited the base.

"What's up, Private?" Skipper said, noting the concerned look on the younger penguin's face.

"That's what I was going to ask you, sir." Private said.

"Come again?"

"I wouldn't want to spoil any vacation time, but nothing is the same anymore."

Skipper sighed. Kowalski had already come to him a few days earlier, expressing concerns about lack of training and the slow drone-like state of the zoo.

"We're wasting time…" Skipper stated. "You're absolutely right. It falls on us to make things right again."

"What's again?" Kowalski asked, coming out of the base. Nat followed behind.

"We're fixing the sorry state of this place and getting the zoo up and running."

Rico, who had just jumped into the habitat, grinned. "Yeah!" He said.

"How are we going to do that?" Private asked.

"First, we need major modifications to security. Kowalski, you can help me develop those." Kowalski nodded. "Next, Rico, I need you to design the weapon defense system." Rico's grin grew wider. "Private, I need you to start spreading the idea of 'zoo family' around again. If we're all united as one, we can defend ourselves." Private hesitated. "Spit it out, soldier."

"I don't know if I can do it."

"Where are Marlene, Mikayla, Rikki, and Izzy?"

Rico pointed to the otter habitat.

"Follow me, boys." Skipper said, jumping over the boundaries and hurrying into the otter habitat.

"Hey." Marlene said as they entered.

"We need help from all of you." He did a head count.

"Maurice, you keep Julien out of trouble and we'll handle Maya." Skipper said.

"You sure?"

Skipper gave a short nod.

"Alright. Maya, play with Tyson and I'll go clean up a bit."

"Otay!" Maya squealed. She began to tickle Tyson as Maurice left.

"Next, I need Kowalski and Rocky on security detail."

The two penguins nodded.

"Great. Rico, you and Nat will work on developing the weapons defense system."

"Okay!"

"Yes!"

Skipper opened his beak and closed it. He'd decided he would rather not ask.

"Marlene, Private, and Izzy, you'll work on getting the zoo to be united again."

"We can do that!" Izzy said. "Come on, all for one-"

Marlene smiled. "And one for all!"

"I don't know what that references, but I'm in!" Private agreed.

"Perfect, I'll be working with Kowalski and Rocky as well as overseeing all the groups." Skipper said. "By the way, Rikki and Mikayla are on child duty."

"What?" Rikki felt the bottom of her foot.

"Not doody, DUTY."

"Oh…wait; you're putting the blind girl in charge of two children?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Mikayla's helping you out."

Mikayla shook her head. "Fine…AGAIN, I will be the unwilling subject of your babysitting mission."

"Who took care of them while we were gone?"

"Josie and Marlene."

"Ah. Well, good luck!"

"Wait, you can't just exit on that line, I- he's gone, isn't he?"

Rikki shrugged, "I didn't even know when he got here."

Mikayla groaned. "Alright, let's get going."

"Okay. PUTRID STINKY BABIES, get your butts over here."

"Rikki!"

Maya giggled and walked over to Rikki, dragging a half-sleeping Tyson along.

"Are you drool bags in front of me?" Rikki asked in a commanding tone. Mikayla slapped her forehead.

"Hewe!" Maya said.

"And where's Cadet Tyson?"

"Hewe, Tys'n, hewe!"

"Enh?"

"Good. Now I have to lay down some ground rules for you."

"Down? Nappy?"

"No, not nap time, rules."

"Nappy wules!"

"As much as I agree that nap time rules, I don't think you're getting it."

"Rikki, they're babies!"

"Your point, Mikayla?"

Mikayla shook her head vigorously. "First of all, you can't call them putrid stinky babies or drool bags. Second, they don't even know what you're talking about."

"Do you have a third?" Rikki asked in a bored tone.

"Yes, one of your 'cadets' is falling asleep on you."

Maya giggled and Rikki grinned. "Alright, I officially order naptime for Cadet Tyson."

"Are you sure you're not Rocky?" Mikayla asked.

"Sarcasm will get you nowhere."

Mikayla rolled her eyes and picked up Tyson.

Maya began to play with Rikki by making silly faces, not realizing that Rikki was faking the giggles she sent the lemur.

"Isn't that bad?" Mikayla asked once they were outside. Maya decided to explore the bushes and occasionally called for attention.

"Making her think I can see her?"

"Yeah."

Rikki pondered this.

"How long were you planning on staying?" Mikayla asked. She suddenly blushed and cleared her throat. "S-sorry, I didn't mean-"

"I'm not offended." Rikki said. "It's a valid question, am I staying or going back to my dad? Well, I was kind of hoping to stay wherever my brother is…I can't bear to be separated from him. Things fell apart when he was captured a few days after our grandmother had passed away. My dad was heartbroken and he barely let me go anywhere by myself for a long time. Now that I've found Rico, I don't want to lose him again."

Mikayla nodded, then added an 'oh'

"What about you? Now that you're over your kid phobia or whatever, are you staying?"

"I did think about staying, but ever since I got here there have been crazy things happening. I think I'm causing all these troubles. Maybe I'm a jinx…"

Rikki laughed. "Really? What's happened since you got here?"

"Kowalski's acted real jumpy, Skipper's experienced trauma dreams and is acting odder than when I met him. Now Josie's died and she was one of the few who seemed normal."

"Hate to break it to you, but no one at this zoo is normal." Rikki said. "You've been here longer than I have and you haven't noticed yet?"

Mikayla laughed. "No, I guess I haven't."

"Would you ever go back?"

"Where?"

"To Alaska. I heard the story as well…do you think you could ever face them again?"

"My parents?"

"Yeah."

"Uh…well…I really don't know. They shunned me without hearing my side of the story. No one wanted to hear that it was an accident."

Rikki nodded. "So you won't go back, but you don't really want to stay…"

"I-"

"Iki! Iki!" Maya yelled. She ran over to the penguin. "Wook, Iki!"

Rikki grinned. "That's great, Maya!"

Mikayla gagged. "No it's not!" She picked up the lemur and brought her to the water's edge and began washing her hands.

"Wha'?"

"This is why you shouldn't pretend you can see. For the sake of little kids without poop in their hands."

"WHAT?!"

"Ugh, I told Izzy to clean up after himself…the second time this week…"

Rikki felt her way back to the cave and ran in. She forgot where she was going and ended up crashing into the crib.

"Huh?" Tyson mumbled sleepily. He heard a sniff from down below and turned around to see Rikki on the floor.

He blinked at her and waved. Puzzled, he waved again. She wasn't waving back.

"E!" he chirped.

Rikki jumped to her feet, startling the young penguin, who began whimpering. She sighed and felt her way to the edge of the crib. She held out her flippers. Once she felt the small penguin, she lifted him out and rocked him. "I'm sorry…" she whispered. "I'm not ignoring you…"

The small penguin didn't understand. She was looking at him, but he waved and she didn't react.

"What are you doing?" She asked, feeling slight movement. She touched his flipper and followed his motions. "Hi to you too." She heard footsteps enter.

"Mikayla?"

"I'm sorry." Mikayla said. "I was just a bit…uh…I don't know, frazzled? I shouldn't have snapped like that."

"It's alright, if I was in your position I would have freaked out too. Kind of makes you think Josie's going to pop up at any moment and demand why her baby had a handful of-"

"Pengy Iki!" Maya yelled, entering the cave. "Hewe, Iki." She placed something in Rikki's flipper.

"Is it a rock?"

"Yeah!" Maya stated proudly.

Rikki and Mikayla giggled.

"Maya, I have something to tell you. Come here." Rikki sat down and Maya sat with her. The older penguin tried to explain that she was blind. Maya seemed to understand a little after both she and Tyson reacted to Mikayla's silly faces, but Rikki wasn't even looking. "Iki no see."

Maya waved her paws in front of Rikki's face. Nothing happened.

"I think she'll get it more when she's older…how are we going to explain what happened to Josie? Being blind is easy to explain to a kid, but what about death? She's been asking for her since that day."

This time, Mikayla didn't have an answer. She watched as Maya began to chase Tyson around again.

"At least she still has her dad." Rikki said.

"Technically, no."

Both jumped at the voice.

"Pengy Sippy!"

"What do you mean?" Mikayla asked.

"Josie never told you, but Julien's not her real father. Another male lemur got her pregnant and left her. He died in a zoo fire and Josie went to Arizona. Actually, I don't know how things actually went down, but Julien and Josie fell in love and he agreed to raise Maya with her. So, technically, Maya could be considered an orphaned lemur."

"But Julien's in charge of her."

"Yes, Rikki, but have you noticed him lately? Heard him? He's not doing anything…Maurice is like a family friend or something."

"She's an orphan before she's one." Mikayla gasped.

"Her birthday's coming up soon, she's bound to notice her mother's not there." Rikki said. "What if we host a great party and she thinks that's why she hasn't seen Josie, because she's planning the party…"

"We'll think about it when we get there." Skipper said. "Let's let her be a child longer without all the sadness. Her birthday's in a couple of weeks. We should all focus on trying to have a good time and make things happy and bright for her." He caught Mikayla's look. "I know it's like lying, but I don't want to break a one year old's heart, would you?"

Mikayla sighed and shook her head.

"Great, then let's get moving."

**A/N: How many thought it might have been Marlene? Yes, I am devious, but it's part of the plan. Remember, I torture first, love later. Julien must suffer more…Next chapter will be Julien dealing with his depression and the attempt to make Maya's birthday party great…that is, if she doesn't ask too much about Josie. How do you think that would work out?**

**I tried to make Izzy's sister search bigger, but I ran out of time…I'm actually a week earlier in the story so next chapter will skip until Maya's birthday which is April 16****th****. By the way, the year is still 2013.**


	50. It's my party and I'll cry if I want to

**A/N: I hope I haven't lost any readers because of the long periods of time between chapters. I am busy with classes now, but I really do want to continue this story which is not near completion. Please bear with me. Will you stick around?**

Not there…

A pair of feet scuttled out of the lemur habitat, the animal in frantic search. She thrust her head into a bush…not there…

She let out a whimpered sigh. Her goal was to search…but the thing she was searching for…well, it was no longer there.

She was about to step out of the zoo boundaries when a pair of arms picked her up. She squeaked and thrashed around until she realized who it was.

"Mowie!"

Maurice smiled at the young lemur. "Happy birthday, Maya. We have a special party planned for you."

"Huh?"

"It's your first birthday, Maya!"

Maya scratched her head. "Ohh…Mama?"

Maurice tried not to let his smile falter. "Don't you worry, we'll have a great time. I think Mikayla's putting on a puppet show for you."

"Pengy Akala?" Maya asked.

"Yep."

Now, if Maya had been older, she would have stayed on target and attempt to complete the search for her mother. Now she was brimming with excitement for a puppet show.

"Yay!"

The lemur habitat had been the ideal place for a lemur's party, but Julien refused to leave. His depression was still ongoing even after all this time. Maya didn't know that. She did know that she hadn't seen neither hide nor tail of her parents and constantly asked for them. Fortunately for everyone else, she was little and easily distracted. They were dreading the part where she was showered with so much affection. The reason for this fear was because Maya knew her parents loved her, but what would happen if everyone was happy and celebrating her…but Julien and Josie weren't going to be there…

Mostly the smaller animals were able to attend. Bada, Bing, and Roy stopped by to say happy birthday. Mort was confined to a square drawn on the ground of the lemur habitat. He wasn't allowed to leave it except for going to the bathroom. He was mostly scared of Skipper's threat which hadn't been elaborated upon yet. The penguin had decided to let the small lemur's fears get to him instead of telling him a punishment.

The cake, this time not thwarted in any way by Mort, was decorated with bright colored jelly beans that Maya had grown fond of. The middle of the cake had strawberries and blueberries inside, and the snacks served were mostly fruit. Tyson dove into a large piece of watermelon and ended up wearing half of it.

Maya laughed and squealed at the puppet show, which was an exaggerated tale on how Kowalski just assumed that other animals were okay with being experimented on. For some reason, Rico wanted a shark puppet to come in and end with a bang. And so it did. Rico had rigged the cardboard box to explode with confetti and fireworks, just don't ask how he did it.

After the show, Maya played with Tyson, both of them started a water war. Kowalski and Izzy had filled forty balloons with water and let Tyson and Maya at it.

The water war ended when Tyson tried to eat the balloon and it burst. He then burst into tears.

"Yay! Mama come?"

"Great party, thanks for doing this guys." Maurice said.

"Mowie."

"No problem, Maurice." Skipper said. "It's the least we could do. I want everyone to have time to enjoy themselves."

"Mama?"

"And we had fun planning it." Marlene said.

"Absolutely." Rocky agreed. "It really takes away from the dreary atmosphere."

"Dada? Mama? Mowie, ah mama?"

"I think Maya enjoyed herself, though I feel bad about Tyson." Marlene said, holding the wet penguin.

"He'll be fine, he need to learn how to take things as they come." Skipper said.

"HEY!" Maya yelled. She glared at them.

"Sorry sweetie, do you need something?" Marlene asked.

"Mama." Maya said with a huff. "Dada."

Maurice sighed. "I don't know what to tell you, kiddo."

Maya's eyes filled with tears. "Ah Mama?"

"CAKE TIME!" Nat yelled, trying to restrain Izzy. "Come and get it before the zoo fool dives headfirst into it."

"Hey!" Izzy snapped.

Maya looked around, she saw the cake and ran to it.

"Yay!"

Skipper and Maurice looked relieved.

"What are we going to do? As I've said, she's bound to notice." Maurice said. "I don't even know how I've managed to not say anything all this time. She knows Julien is sad, but she doesn't know why he won't play with her."

Skipper scratched his head. "Gee, that's a hard one. I don't want to break the child's heart…"

"We need Julien back." Kowalski said. "Sorry, I overheard."

Skipper nodded.

"Even as annoying as he is, Julien's the only thing Maya can call her father. He needs to step up and snap out of it."

"And how do you propose we do that?" Skipper asked.

Kowalski sighed. "I don't know."

Suddenly, the animals started searching frantically.

"What's going on?" Skipper asked.

"Maya's gone!" Private said. "She was just here a moment ago."

"I thought I just saw her!" Stacy said from across the room.

"That's impossible, I just saw her with cake." Mikayla said from somewhere near them.

"I saw nothing." Rikki said.

"Maya!"

"Maya, where are you?"

"Maya, come out!"

The search led most of the partygoers out of the cave and into the surrounding otter habitat. Kowalski, Rico, Private, and Izzy searched the pool, but nothing happened.

Skipper ordered everyone to split up and search the zoo.

None of the bigger animals saw her. Burt said he was taking a nap.

Skipper and Private bumped into each other on the way to the lemur habitat. Skipper nodded and jumped over the wall, followed by the younger penguin. They looked immediately towards the punishment box. It was empty.

Private gasped fearfully and Skipper growled.

"Maya, Where are you?" Private called. "What's that?" He saw movement in the corner.

They rushed over, but it wasn't Maya or Mort.

"Julien?" Private said.

The lemur didn't respond. His crown was lopsided and his fur was a mess. He stared blankly ahead, hugging his knees. There was a piece of untouched cake next to him.

"Julien, Maya's missing."

Still no response from the once rambunctious lemur, just a blank stares into the depths of nothingness.

Private looked sadly at Julien while Skipper moved on to the other parts of the habitat.

"Private, he's not going to respond."

Private jumped, he hadn't realized that Kowalski was here too.

"Julien, please say something!" Private said.

"Nothing…there is nothing…" Julien whispered hoarsely.

SMACK!

The lemur fell back, staring at the penguin in shock.

Kowalski lowered his flipper. "I feel sorry, I do. Josie was a good lemur, but you need to snap out of it. I understand if you need to grieve, but this depression is ridiculous. We have tried EVERYTHING to get you out of it. Do you think I stepped into nearly two months of depression when Emma died and Izzy was separated from me? No. I kept going. I found another goal I needed to accomplish and kept going. You need to move on. No, I'm not saying forget her completely and be ridiculously chipper, I'm saying you need to start pushing yourself back up again. You have your fellow zoo animals to talk to."

Julien's eyebrows twitched for a moment and something flashed behind his eyes, but it was gone. He stared blankly upward, his gaze moving from Kowalski to the sky.

"Boys, over here!" Skipper called from the other side of the bouncy.

"You didn't have to do that." Private said as the two penguins made their way to their leader.

"I suppose." Kowalski muttered distractedly. He looked back for a moment, thinking.

Skipper had found Mort sitting on the edge of the bouncy.

"Mort, where's Maya?"

"She want to see Josie. She have Josie."

"Josie's dead." Kowalski said warily.

"She wanted Josie."

"What does that mean? Mort, what did you do?" Skipper growled.

"I gived her Josie."

Private squeaked. "Y-you don't mean-?"

"What. Did. You. Do?"

Mort trembled.

"MORT!"

"The book!"

"What the he-"

"I see her." Kowalski interjected. He pointed to a tail sticking out of the bush.

The penguins rushed over to see Maya holding a picture book. It had all the pictures from Christmas and New Years. Josie had stopped for a picture with Julien and Maya. Maya touched the picture as drops of water hit it.

Skipper looked up. It was cloudy, but not rainy. He looked back at Maya to see Private patting her back.

"Did you find her?" Maurice's voice came. He jumped into the habitat.

Maya turned her watery eyes to them.

"Mama?" She said weakly.

Maurice gave a heavy sigh. He sat next to her. "Maya, I'm sorry…Mama's not coming."

"No Mama?"

"I'm sorry, sweetie, she…she had to go bye-bye."

"Bye-bye? No Maya?"

"She loves you very much, but she couldn't take you."

"No." Maya said firmly, jumping to her feet. "Mama hewe!"

Before anyone could stop her, she began to run around the habitat.

"MAMA!" She screamed.

Maurice and Private tried to go after her, but Skipper held them back.

"MAMA!"

"She's tearing herself up. I have to help-"

"No, Maurice. She needs to try to figure it out."

"But she's just a kid." Private complained.

"MAAAAMAAAAA!"

"Some birthday…" Kowalski muttered.

Maya ran to Julien, tugging his arm. "DADA, GO MAMA NOW! GO! MAMA HEWE! DADA COME!"

Julien mumbled something, tugging his arm back. Maya refused to let go.

"DADA COME! DADA-" She coughed. "Dada…" she said hoarsely. "Dada…Mama hewe…go Mama…"

"NO." Julien snapped, yanking his arm back.

Maya lurched forward, catching herself before she hit the ground. The penguins and Maurice hurried over.

Maya shook.

"Maya…" Private said.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Maya screamed, her face turning dark pink. She pounded the ground and kicked.

"Hold on." Skipper said.

Her yells became quieter and she stopped kicking. Her breathing became heavy as she tried to get air. She allowed Maurice to pick her up. Tears continued to flow down her face; she was silent except for the ragged intakes of breath.

Her blinking became slower until she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Maurice put her on the bouncy and covered her with a blanket, slipping a small picture under the baby's hand.

"How did you know to wait?" Private asked.

"It's what my mom did with me and Rocky." Skipper said. "We were so upset when we learned that our father and brothers weren't coming back…she let us run off our energy until we couldn't anymore."

Private nodded.

The penguins alerted everyone that Maya was safe and sound and Mort had nothing to do with her disappearance this time. He had left his box to give her the picture book, but he refused to talk about it and stayed in his box.

Marlene explained that she, Josie, Mikayla, Nat, and Izzy worked together to make scrapbooks for everyone.

Maya woke up an hour later, puffy eyed and quiet. She held the picture as she walked with Maurice to the Zoovenir shop.

Skipper wanted to share with the zoo what he had heard.

"Settle down, everyone, settle down." He said.

The animals stopped chatting and looked at him.

"It has come to my attention that Alice has spent the past month debating the status of the zoo. I'm sorry to say that she seems to be leaning further towards closure."


	51. Descent into madness

"What?!" Becky and Stacy gasped.

"She can't!" Mason said.

"I oughta punch 'er." Joey grumbled.

"We can take care of it." Bing said, Bada cracked his knuckles.

"What's happening?"

"Where are we going to go?"

"Is she shipping us off?"

"What about that Sarah lady?" Logan said.

"Yeah, can't she do anything?" Izzy said.

"I have to agree with the beaver and the otter." Nat said. "Come on, Captain Paranoia, talk to her and get her to-"

"ONE, stop calling me names."

"Beats Flatty."

"AND two, I've already spoken to her." Skipper said. "She said she's working on it, but she has to deal with tons of other animals right now."

"What about Julien?"

The room went silent, Mikayla blushed.

"Never mind…" she squeaked.

"No, that's a fair point." Kowalski said. "If we had Julien's upbeat personality back, we could be further along in our goal to regain the excitement of Central Park Zoo."

"That's right; I remember one time when he started a competition." Private said. "He tried to see who the most exciting animal was; we had flocks of visitors and everything."

"The thing is, I have no idea how to get Julien back." Skipper said. "He's basically a zomb-"

"ZOMBIE!" Kowalski shrieked. He cleared his throat and blushed. "Sorry…"

"Zombie now…" Skipper continued. "We need to get him to snap out of it. Leave it to us, we'll think of something."

"Well, when he lost his crown he did speak very poetically." Marlene said. "Then again, he lost something more important than a crown…"

"He needs to be reminded that he still has Maya." Maurice said. "We almost lost her twice before Josie even got to hold her."

"Say what?" Rikki asked.

"Josie got hit by a piece of glass in the stomach when she was a few months pregnant." Skipper said.

"And Maya experienced slight respiratory failure immediately after birth." Kowalski said. "Luckily a scientist is always prepared."

"Luckily Rico has a bottomless gut." Private said.

Kowalski aimed a slap which was dodged.

"Don't sass me."

"Don't be smug."

"Okay, no one said little brothers were sassy and cheeky." Kowalski said.

Private giggled.

"Alright, dismissed." Skipper said. "I need a break…I need someone on recon."

"I suppose I'll do it." Kowalski said.

Skipper nodded.

The animals returned to their habitats to relax.

Kowalski climbed on top of the clock tower and yawned.

It was past midnight and the zoo was silent. A shadow approached the lemur habitat. It went over the wall and stopped. Four sleeping lemurs were visible. Mort was lightly snoring in his box; Maurice and Maya were asleep on the bouncy; and Julien was asleep on his throne. The shadow came towards Julien.

Julien shivered as the wintery breeze went through his fur. He grabbed for a blanket, but felt none. He groaned slightly and opened his eyes. He remembered that he didn't bring a blanket. He sighed and stepped down from his throne. A movement caught his eye. The shadowed figure hid in the bushes.

"Who are you?" Julien asked it.

Silence…

"What's going on?" Julien asked tiredly. His eyelids felt heavy and he fell on the ground, returning to sleep.

Three days later, Skipper was holding another meeting in the shop to tell the animals that Sarah was sending someone over to help them.

Skipper explained that they had a very small group of humans who had been helped at one time or another by their friends (the Antarctic Force).

These humans had promised never to tell the secrets of the animals. They were trusted to assist when necessary and to hide the truth from the rest of the population. There were a few of those humans who built underground headquarters for animal agents all over the world. He knew of one somewhere in Virginia, though he didn't tell the other animals that.

They saw a woman conversing with Alice the day before and decided to let the other animals know what was happening.

"All that we know about her is that her name is Bianca." Skipper said. "She was in a boating accident when she was little and was rescued by some of our friends. She told Alice that she's working for Sarah who could not make it. Basically, Bianca's telling Alice that Sarah is willing to help Central Park Zoo stay opened. They're going to meet again tomorrow to discuss how this is possible. That is all you need to know."

The other animals sighed, but accepted this. To get information out of a penguin was a bit hard, but getting exact details was difficult. There was so much classified information, but no one was allowed to know too much.

The four boys and Rocky entered the HQ to receive an incoming transmission.

Rocky, who could roughly write out words, held up a board that said 'Hello'

"Hello." Bianca said. "I trust you are all alone?"

The penguins nodded.

"General Kent has asked me to assist you." She continued. "After speaking with your zookeeper, Alice, I have learned that she does not think this zoo can open. The reason for this is that she can tell that the animals have no energy left. This is because of a recent death, am I correct?"

They nodded again.

"I am sorry about that."

She saw Skipper say something to another penguin who held up the board.

"I don't know when the zoo can open again, but I promise that I'll try my best. She is very suspicious of you and there are still people wondering about the whole 'Jack Sullivan' incident. Alice said that she needs to know this won't happen again."

Rocky wrote on the board.

"Are you sure you want that?"

Skipper nodded.

"And you think that will help with security?"

Skipper shrugged. Bianca laughed.

"Alright, I'll pass the message along. In the meantime, try to get zoo spirit up- what's wrong?"

She noticed their confused looks and heard a strange noise.

Skipper squawked and exited, the others following him. Private turned back to the television.

"It's alright." Bianca said. "Thank you."

Private nodded and turned off the transmission. He exited the hatch to find that Julien was running around and yelling.

"What the deuce?" Skipper said.

"What's going on?"

"RINGTAIL!"

Julien skidded to a stop and looked wildly around. "I saw her…I saw Josie!" he laughed insanely. "She's alive! I saw her."

"Is madness one of the five stages of grief?" Rocky asked.

Kowalski shook his head.

Skipper made eye contact with the frantic lemur. Excitement and anxiety filled the lemur's eyes, but there wasn't a hint of a lie. As far as Skipper could tell, Julien was telling the truth in that he truly believed Josie had come back.

Everyone was silent as they looked at Julien. He made eye contact with everyone else, trying to get them to see that he was not lying to them.

"Please…please be believing me…" Julien whispered. It wasn't his usual air of dignity, but a plea for acceptance. He'd always demanded and ordered what he wanted, but now he looked utterly helpless. His fur was a mess and he was in desperate need of a bath.

"I'm sorry, but there is no way she can be back." Skipper said.

"But-"

"No, Ringtail, it's impossible."

"Dere is a way!" Julien insisted. "She came back because the sky spirits-"

"Stop." Skipper said. "She can't come back. If these so called 'sky spirits' could bring back the dead then there would be less of a need for funerals. If the sky spirits existed, they would have brought your mother back along with Maurice's mother, Mort's parents, Private's father, My father and brothers, Kowalski's friend, Rico's mother…need I go on?"

Julien stared at Skipper, his face empty of emotion. Only pain was seen in his eyes.

"What about Juliana?" Skipper said. "Wouldn't the sky spirits have brought her back too? This is all in your head, Julien. The dead are at peace and you need to-what?"

Julien's mouth had moved slightly.

"Speak up, Ringtail."

"I said shut up." Julien said.

"Shut up about what?" Skipper asked. "Shut up trying to convince you that the sky spirits aren't real, or shut up trying to convince you that Josie and Juliana are dead."

"Dey are NOT dead." Julien snapped, his eyes filled with fury.

"They are. The sooner you accept that-"

"YOU SHUT YOUR STUPID MOUTH!" Julien screamed.

"Hate to contradict you, but this is a beak." Skipper said quite calmly. "And it is neither stupid nor smart."

Kowalski opened his mouth, but was silenced by Skipper's glare.

"Fine…" Julien growled. "Then be explaining to me who was moving around last night if it was not my Josie?"

"I had to pee." Nat said. "And yes, I do sleep in the lemur habitat sometimes."

"So, it was not my Josie?"

"I can barely sleep some nights; I was awake when I heard you mumbling." Nat said. "Your Royal foolishness was sleep-talking. I didn't see anyone who didn't look like they belonged here."

"I woke up to put a blanket on you." Maurice said. "There really wasn't anyone there last night."

Julien trembled. "I-I imagined all of it? So…Josie…Juliana…gone…"

"Dada?" Maya said, wandering over to Julien.

"No, it cannot be." Julien said. "I will prove to you that Josie is alive."

"Dada." She poked him.

Julien crossed his arms and fixed Skipper with a glare. Skipper returned it.

"Dada!" She poked him harder.

"STOP IT!" Julien yelled.

Maya stared at Julien, tears filling her eyes. His face was contorted in rage. Maya whimpered.

"Julien, stop!" Kowalski said. "Don't be a fool. Just accept the deaths and take care of Maya!"

Julien let out a furious yell and lunged at the penguin.

Skipper jumped in the way and was tackled down by Julien. The penguin managed to slide out and kick Julien in the side.

"Wipe your mouth." Skipper said coldly.

Julien dragged his arm across his mouth to discover that spit had gathered at the corners, giving him an even scarier appearance. He breathed heavily as he watched the appalled animals leave. Maya had buried her face into Maurice's shoulder and shook with sobs.

"And wake up." Skipper said.

Julien's body shook. The animals looked concerned.

"…eh…hehe…"

"Julien?" Marlene said.

Julien looked up; a forced smile plastered itself on his face. His eyes were cold looking and his pupils were small. His laughter became a loud cackle, causing the others cringe and back away.

"He's gone…" Kowalski whispered.

"Huh? Where'd he go? I still hear him." Rikki said.

"Yes, the lemur is still there, but the egotistical king is gone. He's gone off the deep end…"

"There's nothing we can do to help him." Skipper said, turning away from the lemur. "He's on his own."

"Skipper, you can't be serious!" Private said. "He's our friend, we have to-"

Kowalski put up his flipper, causing the younger one to close his beak. The brothers made eye contact. Private sighed.

"We have more pressing matters to concern ourselves with." Rocky said. "I understand my brother without question and I accept his decision without question as well."

"I-"

"You should do the same, Private." Skipper said.

Private wanted to argue back, but Skipper had already gone. Everyone returned to their respective habitats except for him and Julien. Private looked at Julien.

"You believe me, don't you?" Julien asked, hopeful

_I honestly don't know anymore._

"You have to…" Pleading

_Do I?_

"We never argue…you and me, we tight…right?" Desperate

_It's true we've never had arguments or big fights, but I-I just don't know._

"Private, I saw her. I saw her and I will prove it." Angrily determined

_Julien…_

"AHAHAHA! I WILL PROVE IT TO ALL YOU STINKY ANIMALS!" Descent

_What have you become?_

"It's fine…" Julien laughed. "I don't CARE if you don't believe me! I will get her myself. I will bring back my Josie and Juliana and I won't let anyone get in my way!" Madness

_Who are you?_

"I am JULIEN!" Disappearing

"Are you?"

"SHUT UP! YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME!"Julien screamed. Gone?

"I believe that you are traumatized." Private said, trying not to show his fear. "I know how-"

"YOU DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL!"

"Oh yeah?!" Private snapped, his eyes filling with hot tears. "You don't know what I've seen…I saw battle…So many bodies…I saw blood…madness…I saw Byron die in front of me…I saw Johnny's insanity in his last hours and…Jo-Joh…JOHNSON BLOODY DIED ON ME!" He had never used that word against anyone, but he was too upset to stop and his tears couldn't be held back anymore. "WE WERE ALMOST THERE! He could have made it…I dragged his dying body back…away from the other bodies that were already DEAD and I tried to save him…Maybe they weren't as close to me as Josie was, but I still felt the pain. You have no idea how guilty I still feel for Johnson's death!" He stared Julien in the eyes. "But I never went insane about it. Yes, I had nightmares, but I also had friends who supported me. On the contrary, it's you who doesn't know how we feel."

Private inhaled sharply and made a break for the penguin habitat without waiting for a response. He zipped down the hatch and ran into someone.

"Private."

"S-Skipper…" He cried into his leader's chest.

"You still feel guilty?"

"I-I'm sorry…"

"Look at me."

Watery eyes met the leader's darker ones. Kowalski hugged his brother.

"Don't be sorry." Skipper said. "You shouldn't be sorry for losing your temper or for feeling guilty. To be honest, Johnson would have died even if you had succeeded. He was already gone."

"I don't want Julien to be gone too." Private said.

"Neither do we." Skipper said. He looked around at the penguins.

…

…

"I am not infested with the crazies…I know it…" Julien muttered to himself. He was hiding out by a trash can near the front gate. "I don't know…am I crazy? Sky spirits, I needs your help! I want to know that I am not imagining things."

"You're not imagining me."

Julien whipped around and squinted into the shadows. He gasped and his eyes widened.

"Kowalski imagined his friend Emma. But me, I'm not imaginary."

"I knew it." He whispered softly.

The figure moved forward.

"Josie…"


	52. Sweet sorrow

"I knew it!" Julien said. "How did you come back? I can't wait to rub it in the faces of those smelly penguins! I was right!"

"Julien, I can't stay for long." Josie said. "I just came to tell you something."

"What is it? Is the secrety spy peoples after you?"

"Ju-"

"King Julien, are you back there?" Maurice's voice came. "Marlene invited us to her habitat so the babies could play."

"Yes!" Julien said. "Finally, it will be my chance to prove that Josie is alive!"

"So, you're coming?" Maurice asked as he came into view.

Julien grinned and nodded vigorously. "Look, Maurice, J-" He looked around. "Hey, where'd she go?"

"Who?"

"Josie!" Julien snapped. "I was talking to her!"

Maurice squinted. "I don't see anyone there." He said. He walked to the corner of the dark space and smacked the walls. "See, just walls and shadows…and a poster with a picture of Leonard."

"That's not right…"

"Yeah, it's not one of his best shots. I guess if it keeps people coming, it works."

"I- are you lying to me?"

"No." Maurice said bluntly. "If Josie was there then I would have reacted differently, right?"

Julien sighed. "I'm not going. I will just be by myself."

"Suit yourself." Maurice said.

Julien returned to the lemur habitat to find it empty except for Mort. He approached the sleeping lemur.

"No llama, I wants the popcorn…" Mort mumbled, hugging a half eaten mango. "Give Mort the popcorn…"

"Julien, there you are."

Julien whipped around. "Josie! Why did you leave?"

"What I had to tell you could not be said in front of Maurice." Josie said.

"Oh, that is okay." Julien said. "It's just Mort who is sleeping here."

"Mango?" Mort muttered. He yawned and rubbed his eyes.

Josie gasped and began to leave.

"NO!" Julien shouted, running after her. "Come back!"

He followed her over the wall and through the zoo. She ran deeper into the zoo with Julien on her tail.

"Josie!" He called. "We are alone, come back!"

She turned to him. "We aren't alone." She said. "The penguins are coming."

Julien whipped around. "I see no penguins." He turned to discover that Josie had disappeared again. He screamed in frustration and ran back to his habitat. Mort eyed the angry lemur.

"You!" Julien said. "It is your fault!"

"I'm sorry!"

"If you didn't wake up with your stupid mango llama, Josie would still be here!"

"I don't know."

Julien growled. "She was just here and you woke up, she was about to tell me something!"

"But, Josie not here no more…"

"Yes she is!" Julien yelled, picking Mort up by the tail. "I saw her and you made her go away again! You saw Josie too!"

"No, I not see nothing!"

"Julien put him down!"

"Josie?" Julien said hopefully. He turned around, dropping Mort.

"Do I sound like Josie?" Kowalski said, shaking his head.

"What do you want?"

"To tell you to move on."

Julien gave the tall penguin a glare. "Josie's alive. How am I seeing her then?"

"There is a small part of you that wants to hold onto her." Kowalski said. "Maybe these visions are trying to tell you something."

"Dey are NOT visions!" Julien grumbled. "She is very real."

Kowalski sighed. "It's worse than I thought." He paced the wall of the lemur habitat. "What to do, what to do…maybe-no we tried that already…I could-no, that wouldn't help much…Or-no, that's illegal…We've tried everything…" He looked at Julien to see the lemur had sat down and stared at his knees solemnly. Kowalski approached Mort and whispered something.

The small lemur hesitantly took a few steps towards Julien, then bolted to the king lemur and hugged his feet.

"I missed you feet, I missed you so much!" Mort wailed.

Julien did nothing. He didn't even acknowledge Mort.

"This is bad." Kowalski said.

"Bad?" Mort whimpered, looking fearfully at Kowalski.

Kowalski ignored him and kept thinking.

"Kowalski, did you find him?" Skipper asked, jumping over the wall.

"Yeah, nothing happened. He's the same as ever." Kowalski said. "Maybe we should have everyone talk to him one more time."

"Alright."

The two of them made their way to the otter habitat.

"Good news is, Alice is considering keeping the zoo open." Skipper said. "The bad news is, she needs all the animals to be happy again. We need Julien back. If talking to him doesn't work, I'm going to pound it out of him."

"It'll work!" Kowalski said. "He just has to admit that he's not really seeing Josie and get over her."

"How do we get him to do that?" They jumped inside the otter habitat.

Kowalski was about to answer when Nat made a beeline for the bushes.

"Hey!" Skipper said.

"What happened?" Kowalski asked. He cringed when a retching noise was heard.

"I think she was trying to see how much fish she could eat." Marlene said. "This is the second time she's thrown up today; the first time was this morning. Lemurs were not meant to eat raw fish."

"That's Natty for you." Kowalski said with a small laugh.

Skipper shook his head. "We're so close to reopening the zoo…there's just one thing…"

"Problem thy name is Julien." Kowalski said.

…

…

For the rest of the week, Julien remained quiet. Mort left his box several times to hug Julien's feet and was only reprimanded once by Maurice. Julien, however, didn't seem to notice. His eyes were blank of emotion. He kept muttering that Josie had returned and that she would return.

It had transpired that Bianca was successful in talking with Alice. The head zookeeper had agreed to keep the zoo open with the hiring of new employees. These employees had been trained and were thoroughly examined prior to arriving at the zoo. The penguins watched the employees and were satisfied with the progress.

They really were making process. The zoo looked as clean as possible and the animals were cleaned and given checkups.

There was only one thing.

One bump in the road to reopening.

Julien.

He snapped at all the humans and refused to let anyone get close to him. He would hide from them. He hadn't listened to anyone and kept to himself.

He was practically dragged to a zoo meeting at the end of the week. He sat in the corner, not caring that the animals were excited to open again. He stared into space as Mort hugged his feet. The small lemur was pried off at the end of the meeting by Maurice.

"Julien." Kowalski said as the animals were leaving. "I need to talk to you."

Julien's gaze shifted to the penguin.

"You're hurt. I understand that, I really do." The penguin said. "But this needs to stop. Josie is gone and you need to admit that. If you don't, there could be severe consequences. This has to be the last time, do you understand? You can't go on like this, you could hurt yourself. Just tell yourself that these are hallucinations and she's not real."

Kowalski received no response. He sighed and left the building.

It was very late when Julien decided to return to his habitat. He looked up suddenly as a shadow ran by. He narrowed his eyes and gave chase.

"AHA!" He yelled. He jumped and managed to trip the animal. He clutched the foot of the other fallen animal. "Josie?"

She looked at him with wide eyes. "J-Julien…"

He jumped up and grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stand. "You are real." He said. "I feel your fur and I pulled you…I knew it."

"Julien, I have-"

Julien put a paw on her mouth. "No need for talking, you're back and that's what matters."

Julien smiled and leaned in for a kiss. Josie trembled and ducked her head.

"No." She said firmly

Julien looked shocked; he turned to see Josie's expression. It was the expression that had always told him that he was being silly. He missed it so much.

"I-I'm sorry, I can't kiss you."

"But why? W-what happened?" Julien gave her a worried look.

Josie bit her lip, trying to find the words. Her expression looked pained and confused.

"Is everything alright, my queen?"

"I'm sorry…"

Julien's expression turned to confusion.

"I'm not Josie."

"What?" Julien's jaw dropped.

"I'm Nat." She said with a nervous laugh.

"I…oh, I see… this is being a joke, very funny!"

"It's not a joke. Don't you think that if Josie really did come back that she would have brought Juliana with her? She also would've kissed you a lot earlier and found Maya."

Julien shook his head. "I-I cannot be believing this…How? Why?"

"Kowalski's concoction actually worked and I changed into Josie. He said it was the last time I could take it because it was having harmful effects on my body."

"Why?"

Nat took a deep breath. "Kowalski practically begged me until I said yes."

"Why?"

Nat looked away. Julien's face was too much to handle, he looked so lost and sad.

"Nat, tell me why did it even happen? Why did you make me thinks that my love came back to me?"

Nat took another couple of deep breaths.

"Nat…"

"You weren't moving on." She muttered.

"Come again?"

"The incessant whining and carrying on-"

"The point."

"The point is… Julien, you weren't moving on and I- well, Kowalski, thought you needed to hear it from the girl you were still in love with."*

"Moving on?"

"Yes. You need to think about the future. You missed Maya's birthday because you were sulking. Things haven't been as upbeat without your craziness. I hate to admit it, but even I missed the old you. You turned into a crab and ignored everybody, even letting Mort touch your feet. Julien, if you are a king then you need to get up and keep going for your people."

"How long?"

"What?"

"How long are you going to look like her?"

"Another minute or two, I don't know…I wasn't thinking about how I was going to reveal myself. I am quite good at hiding things and- hey!"

Julien had given her a kiss on the cheek.

"Moving on does not include kissing Josie!"

"That wasn't for Josie."

Nat blushed. "Y-you like me?"

"Ew gross, no!" Julien nearly shrieked.

"Oh good…" Nat sighed, feeling relieved.

"It was a thank you kiss."

"You're welcome, I guess."

Awkward silence followed until Josie's body began to change into Nat's.

"Ah, I'm myself again." Nat said. "By the way, I still hate you. This was just…a temporary truce."

"You bet." Julien said. "Now I got to get back to my throne!" He announced, bouncing away.

"Idiot!" Nat called after him, smiling.

She returned to the penguin HQ and explained that she'd finished her mission.

…

Far above in an unseen place, a furry face was looking at the scene through pearly white cloud-like objects. She smiled at the living one, silently thanking Nat for helping him. Turning to a squirrel, Josie's grin grew wider.

"Pay him a visit tonight." The squirrel said. She held a small baby lemur in her arms.

"Am I allowed?"

"No one said you weren't."

"Thank you, Emma."

"Take Juliana with you. I am paying a visit to my friends' dreams tonight as well."

The lemur and the squirrel nodded to each other before Josie departed with the baby.

…

Josie and Juliana floated invisibly into the head of a tall sleeping lemur.

"Julien?"

Julien had been having an odd dream where he was running from a huge Mort in a baby diaper and then spoon-feeding baby food into a grown Rico's mouth.

Then he was back in Madagascar and there was a lemur walking up the beach towards him, carrying a baby basket with her.

"Josie? This is Nat again, right?"

Josie shook her head.

"A dream?"

"Yes and no. I can't stay for long, but you wanted to see her."

Julien peered into the basket to see a baby lemur babbling and wiggling her arms. He picked the baby up and held her.

"Why are her eyes closed?"

"We never found out what color her eyes were."

Julien nodded, he told Skipper that he wanted to see the baby but he didn't want to see her dull lifeless eyes. He wanted to preserve the memory of Kowalski's x-ray photos. The photos had been ambivalent in that they didn't get to tell what gender she was until after she was forcibly pushed out of her mother.

Josie had heard what Julien named her and decided to call her that.

"Do you want to know?" Josie whispered softly.

Julien smiled. "Yes."

Juliana opened her eyes. They were a bright shade of yellow with a tinge of orange like her dad, then the orange grew and she had the same eye color as Maya and Josie.

"They change like that. They aren't sure what color to be."

He saw another combination of yellow and orange flash by before they changed again.

"She looks so much like you." Josie said.

"She'll never grow…she won't know me." Julien said.

"She'll pass onto another baby and grow beautifully."

"I love you both, my sweet angels." Julien whispered.

"Remember the promise you made?" Josie asked.

"Eh?"

"It was a little more than a year ago. We did rush into our relationship, but you made a promise nonetheless."

"I promised…and I will keep it." Julien said with determination. He put his arms down, not noticing Juliana had appeared back in the basket.

"Dada…" Juliana babbled.

Julien's eyes filled with tears. The voice sounded familiar, but whether Maya's voice or not, it had come from Juliana's face. The baby closed her eyes and faded away.

"She's being called back. She can't spend as long as I can."

"How long do you have?"

Josie gave a sad smile at his hopeful tone. "Until the minutes before you wake up."

"We rushed and this happened…way too fast…I'm sorry, my Queen. I will move on, but I don't want another wife."

"Why do you sound less obnoxious in your dreams?" Josie laughed.

"You know what they say, 'in your dreams, Ringtail'… or at least that's what Skipper says."

Josie wrapped her arms around him and gave him a kiss.

Julien felt a warm sensation, but nothing else. She was still not solid…not there…unreachable…

"I promised my mother something and I promised you something."

"Your mother is very proud of you." Josie said.

The tears escaped the prison of Julien's eyelids. He wiped them away only to have more come down.

"Don't feel bad for us." Josie said. "We're at peace here. I want you to take care of Maya and please don't harm Mort anymore. Even though he was the cause of the chase, an attack would have happened anyway. There might have been no one left if you hadn't attacked the robot. By sacrificing two lives, Mort may have inadvertently saved the entire-if not the majority-of the zoo."

"I understand." Julien said. "I just want to say go-"

"Don't."

"I never got to say goodbye to my mother…I should have given her a hug or kiss before she left…goodbye Josie, I love you."

"I love you too. And this may be the cheesiest line in the history of the world, but I'll never really be gone. I'm right here," she touched Julien's chest, "in your heart and in Maya's."

"I promise, I'll take care of Maya…but I can never forget you. I can't stop loving you." Julien said. "I will keep my promise to both you and my mother. Please tell her I love her. Tell Juliana I love her…and I love you…my Queen."

"My King." Josie said. "In the words of William Shakespeare, parting is such sweet sorrow."

They remained in embrace until Josie's whispering became vague and the scenery around them began fading.

"I promise." Julien called out. The light swirled until darkness covered it and he felt the rubber bounce house under him. "I promise…" He mumbled. He awoke with a start and stared up at the sky. "Was that real?" He whispered softly. He touched his face to find it wet.

"Your Highness?"

He sat up to find Maurice looking at him with concern and a squirming Maya in his arms.

"Well?"

"Pardon?" Maurice said.

"What are you waiting for? Be giving me my baby and makes me a smoothie!" He looked down at his feet. "Oh and- OFF THE FEET!" Mort flew across the habitat and landed on his butt. He blinked several times before smiling.

Maurice smiled and handed Maya over. "Right away." He turned to leave, but looked back. "Welcome back, King Julien." He gave a wink and went off to the smoothie machines.

"My baby girl, I missed your birthday and I am truly sorry." Julien said, sitting on the bouncy with Maya on his lap. He wiped the tears from his face. "I made a promise to your mama and I will keep it."

"Mama?"

"Yes, she and Juliana are in a better place. You and I will sticks it out together!"

Maya smiled.

"Dada."

"Yes, Dada's here. I won't leave again, I promise."

"Pa'mi?"

"Yes."

"Yay! Pway Tys'n?"

"Yes, you can play with Tyson."

"Tank 'oo, Dada!" Maya said.

"You're welcome."

"Ah wubboo."

"Huh?"

"Wubboo, Ah wubboo, Dada."

"I love you too."

**A/N: Nat's quote about moving on came from Wizards of Waverly place; however, unlike Juliet, Josie and Juliana won't be coming back. They might be mentioned in later chapters as Maya gets older.**

**In case it was confusing, Nat was sick because of Kowalski's concoction. It was causing terrible reactions similar to what happened to Private in an earlier chapter.**


	53. Getting back up again

**A/N: I think I have said it before, but I will say it again. I am NOT giving up on this story. It just takes me more time with six stories and college life. **

Alice never questioned what caused the lemur to have a change of attitude, she was just satisfied that they would be able to stay open.

Julien was more determined than ever to bring people back. He still had a look of sadness at times, but no longer wallowed in it. He held his head high and taught Maya how to dance. The energy that the zoo used to have was lower, but it was making a comeback.

The penguins decided to challenge Julien to see which species could bring the most visitors. Both of them tied, but brought more visitors to the zoo.

Visitors were happy that all the animals were as eager to entertain as before.

Skipper remained suspicious of the level of normal behavior. So far, Blowhole had remained silent; there was no sign of the opposing side or any word about them from the Antarctic Base. Blowhole was out there somewhere, biding his time. Had he been the one to send that robot? They were uncertain. Koru was just as big of a threat, but it was startling to hear no news of him.

Even as a couple more weeks passed, there had been no unusual or suspicious activity reported.

Skipper tried to think back to a little more than a year ago, before it all went down. The only differences from then and now were the little things. Back then, Nat was undercover for Blowhole's side and Josie was alive, but nearly lost Maya. Now, Nat was on the side of good and Izzy was here. Mikayla had on and off moments, but in the end wished to stay. Josie was no longer here, but Maya and Tyson were here.

There had also been an increase in visitors since Maya was born, and especially when Tyson came to the zoo. Also, Rocky and Rikki had volunteered to stay with their brothers. They did grow a little annoyed when kids kept asking if the girl penguins and the boys would have more babies.

Rico almost knocked out a seven year old who knew WAY more than he should; said seven year old also insinuated that the blind penguin was going to drown because she couldn't see. Rikki took immediate offense and kicked the air in front of her, resulting in Kowalski plummeting into the water.

Private found himself having more conversations with Rocky about what they had both been through in Antarctica. The four boys and Rocky all still suffered from post-battle nightmares some nights, but talked about it with each other and managed to keep smiling.

Mikayla had grown used to the kids; although she admitted she could do better if Tyson wasn't practicing his kicking every five minutes.

Skipper had taken it upon himself to teach Tyson the basic fighting techniques. This often resulted in Maya fighting back and Tyson ending up with a bruised flipper.

"That is one tough lemur." Kowalski commented.

Maya had grinned back after apologizing to the small penguin.

If the two of them weren't terrorizing each other, they were causing chaos in the zoo. Tyson had managed to slip away a few times and Maya found him. Had she been an older, responsible lemur, she would have returned him to his habitat.

However, she was one, and had much more exciting things planned. For one, she found Private's stash of Peanut butter Winkies. It was an insane day, trying to chase down two sugar-high kids who somehow managed to break into Kowalski's lab and smash nearly every beaker and test tube in there. They also managed to cause Julien's stereo to explode, which was strongly contributed to the fact that Rico often forgot to hide his explosives well. Let's just say that he was lucky the hyperactive kids had quickly moved on after placing the dynamite in the stereo.

Even if Tyson was sound asleep, safely inside the crib, Maya was on a roll. She seemed to run on pure energy from the moment she got up, sometimes at the crack of dawn, until the seconds before she fell asleep at night. If no one kept her busy with dancing or coloring, she was exploring the world around her even if it got her in sticky situations. She would take fruit and smear the juice on the walls of the habitats. She managed to get into Alice's office and type up a storm of madness before the penguins found her. Later, she would try to get Tyson to do it. Alice had a hard time keeping tabs on them at times and nearly collapsed after one of their sugar rushes.

Julien felt conflicted. He knew he should probably try to get some control over Maya, but he didn't want to ruin her fun. It was only when Alice grumbled loudly about locking Maya up in a cage that he decided to try to be serious.

He sighed and sat down on the bouncy with Maya.

"Hi!" Maya squealed.

Julien tried not to smile. "Er…Hey, you know what; I am really bad at this." He said.

Maya tilted her head.

"Maya, you cannot be running around like a crazy lemur."

"Huh?"

"What I am meaning to say is…Maurice, help me out!"

Maurice sighed heavily. "Maya needs to be told what she did wrong and that she shouldn't do it again."

"How?"

Maurice sat down on the other side of Maya.

"Like this. Maya, sweetie."

She directed her attention to the other lemur.

"Daddy's music box is special and you need to be careful."

"Go boom!" Maya laughed, clapping her hands.

Julien snickered, but quickly stifled it at Maurice's expression.

"No, Maya. That was a bad thing."

"Bad?" Maya asked, lowering her eyebrows.

"Making Daddy's music box go boom is a no-no."

"No-no?"

"That's right."

Maya raised a brow.

Maurice scratched his head. "Okay, how about this…" He stood up and drew a circle at the corner of the habitat. "If you do something bad, you have to be in the time out circle for five minutes or until we say you can come out."

Maya looked confused.

"King Julien, I think we just have to wait. We'll take this one step at a time." Maurice said.

"What is that meaning?" Julien asked.

"We can't explain this to her very well, but we can show her the next time she's in trouble."

"Fine, but I am not wanting to lay down the harsh punishments on my baby."

"Of course not, this is only practice so she can learn to listen."

Maya approached the circle, looking at it with confusion. She shrugged and walked away.

A few days passed with Maya just ignoring the circle and playing around as usual. It was a very warm day when she decided to mess around with the stereo again.

She opened the compartment and pulled out the batteries. Looking around at it, she found a few wires and tugged on them, causing sparks to fly out and onto the battery. She then proceeded to hit the stereo with the batteries until one of them exploded. It leaked out acid onto the music machine and more sparks flew until it ignited. She stared at it in wonder, her arm reaching out when a flipper stopped her.

"Maya!" Julien yelled. He raced over just as Rico was putting out the fire.

Skipper released the small lemur. "Julien, she could have gotten hurt or worse. You need to keep an eye on her."

"Maya, that was a big no-no." Maurice said.

"Should she go in the time-out circle?" Julien asked.

"Yes." Skipper and Maurice said.

Julien carried Maya to the circle. "Stay there until Daddy says you can come out."

Julien started to walk away when Maya ran out of the circle.

"No, stay." Julien said, picking her up and putting her back.

Maya's brows lowered.

"Draw?"

"No, you cannot be drawing in time out." Julien said.

Maya attempted to leave, but Julien stopped her.

"Time out." Julien said.

"No." Maya said firmly, glaring at Julien.

Maurice pulled Julien away and told him to just ignore her.

Both of them ignored Maya unless she set foot outside the circle. They would put her back in and leave her there.

Maya was shocked the sixth time this happened. She sat there, watching everyone else go about their business, ignoring her.

"Tys'n?" She called, hoping her playmate would come. She tried to bring toys and crayons in, but they were taken away.

"Daddy?" Maya called. "DADDY?!"

She crossed her arms and glared at the back of Julien's head. A little while later, she began to cry. Julien wanted to comfort her, but Maurice said that Maya still had to learn that the circle was there when she was bad.

Maya kept throwing her tantrum until she got tired.

"I think she's been in there long enough." Maurice said. "It was only five minutes."

"Feels like forever." Julien said. He got up and walked over to Maya.

She sat with her back turned to him.

"Maya?"

She looked at him with red rimmed eyes.

"You can come out now." Julien said.

Maya stood up slowly. She looked at Julien critically and carefully made her way to the edge of the circle.

"Time out is all done now."

Maya stepped out and glared at Julien.

"I put you in time out because you did a no-no." Julien said.

"I sowwy." Maya said.

"I forgive you." Julien said.

"Dada sowwy." Maya huffed.

"Me? For what?"

Maya pointed to the circle.

"No, I cannot be apologizing for that." Julien said. "I have to put you in time out so you can learn that you can't do dangerous things."

"Huh?"

"If you do a no-no thing again, I will have to put you back in."

"NO!" Maya screamed.

"Please do not yell at me." Julien said.

"NO!"

"Maya, it is only if you are bad. If you be a good lemur, I will not put you in there!"

"Dada bad!"

Julien looked hurt. "Maya…I-I am not bad…I am just…I do not want to lose you."

Maya didn't respond. She stomped angrily to her toys.

"What am I to do now?" Julien groaned.

"There's nothing you can do except wait for her to get it." Skipper's voice came from behind.

"What do you mean?"

"She won't understand quite yet, and yeah she'll be mad at you, but over time she'll start to link bad behavior with that circle and hopefully stop driving everyone crazy."

"I am not ready to be a role model!" Julien yelled. "I cannot do this!"

"Yes you can." Skipper said. "There are a lot of things I believe you can't do, but there are things that you CAN do, and dealing with this sort of behavior is one of these things."

"That I can do?"

The penguin nodded. "Hey, one day I'll have to discipline Tyson." He said. "It's not easy to do, but no one ever said kids were easy. Also, I know how you feel. Neither of us is the biological parent of our little ones, but we both have a sense of wanting to love and protect."

"But how do I do the mother stuff? At least you are having your sister and Rikki and Marlene to help out…I have no one…"

"That's not true." Skipper said. "You know that Marlene would be more than happy to help out. And Mikayla's here to babysit anytime you need her to, even against her will."

"You actually admit that?" Kowalski asked, jumping into the habitat.

"I admit nothing." Skipper said. "Aren't you supposed to be training with the others?"

"Rico and Private are fighting over the television, and I think your sister is only making it worse."

"Oh brother…"

"Tell me about it."

The penguins hurried to their habitat to find burn marks all over the inside of the HQ.

Rikki sat on her bed with her flippers held protectively over her head. Mikayla had retreated under her covers and peeked out at them.

CRASH!

"DANG IT, RICO!"

"HAHAHA!"

"ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS WATCH LUNACORNS!"

Kowalski and Skipper exchanged exasperated looks.

"Penguins, fall in NOW!" Skipper shouted.

Private scratched at his skin as he emerged from Kowalski's lab.

"Good golly…" Kowalski said weakly as the other two emerged.

All three of them were covered in dirt and unidentified substances from the lab.

Rikki made her way towards Skipper's angry growl. Rico caught her flipper and pulled her into the line.

"You too." Skipper said to Mikayla.

She nervously hurried to Rikki's side, not wanting to invoke Skipper's wrath further.

"Where's the baby?" Kowalski asked as he stood in line.

"At Marlene's, remember?" Skipper said.

"Oh yeah."

"Alright, I want to know what happened here." Skipper said. "Kowalski, where were you?"

"I was in the lab, sir."

"What happened before you came to get me?"

"I don't know the details, but I heard yelling and came out to investigate." Kowalski said. "When I came out, Rico and Private were arguing about which show to watch. At that point, Rocky hit them both with a fish. They then began to argue even further, resulting in more fish smacking. My decision to come get you resulted when all three of them shouted at me to stay out of it and then proceeded to whack me with fish."

"Is Kowalski's story true?" Skipper asked the rest of them.

"From what I heard, yep." Rikki said. "I tuned them out until Rocky swore at the top of her lungs, then I'm assuming at that point, Kowalski had come out."

"Mikayla!"

Mikayla jumped. "Y-yes, Skipper?"

"Do Kowalski and Rikki's points check out?"

"W-what?"

"Are they telling the truth?"

"Yes. I-I tried to stop them, but Rico growled and scared me…and Kowalski's lab was locked until he came out."

"You three." Skipper said.

"Yes, little brother?" Rocky said sweetly.

"Why were weapons pulled out?"

Rico laughed sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Who got to the television first?"

"Me"

"I did"

Private and Rico glared at each other.

"Rico, I got there first and you know it!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"STOP!" Skipper said. "First off, this fight should not have happened and YOU shouldn't have gotten involved." He turned to Rocky. "I do not tolerate this sort of behavior in my base, even from my sister."

"Gee." Rocky said.

"Can't there be one day of peace and quiet without any of you driving me insane?" Skipper asked, glaring at each of them.

"I think you need to calm down." Rocky said. "We're trying our best here, but there's only so much we can handle. In case you haven't noticed, there's eight of us trying to live in this place."

"Yeah, I noticed." Skipper muttered irritably.

"Then what's wrong? I thought you were alright with me staying here for a while."

"It's not just you I have a problem with."

"Is it me?" Mikayla asked.

"I didn't ask you, but yeah kind of!" Skipper snapped. "You can't seem to watch the kids for an hour without there being a problem or something."

"And you can't seem to ask me if I WANT to watch the kids." Mikayla said. "You treat me as if I'm just someone who's there to take care of the kids so you don't have to."

"So you want Rikki to take care of them?"

"Hey, leave me out of it." Rikki said. "I have no problem being here if you can handle it."

"If I can handle it?"

"You do seem to be on the short tempered side." Kowalski said. "I've noticed that recently…in the past few days."

"Are you feeling well, Skipper?" Private asked.

"I'm fine." Skipper growled. "I just don't like when I'm annoyed by the antics of a bunch of adult penguins who act like CHILDREN! AND I HAVE THIS STINKIN' ITCH!"

He twisted his flipper back and scratched furiously.

"Now who's acting like a child?" Rocky said.

"I can't take all this noise." Skipper grumbled. He stomped into the bathroom and slammed the door.

Kowalski sighed and walked into his lab. "I don't know, but- AAH! WHAT HAPPENED?!" He whimpered at the scene of destruction before him. It looked like a tornado had hit his lab with a deep rage.

"Ehehe…oops." Rico said.

"Sorry." Rocky said.

"You thought my lab would be the perfect place to carry out your brawl?" Kowalski said, trying not to yell.

"It was open." Private offered weakly.

"Go…just leave me….please…"

The three of them zipped out. Kowalski groaned loudly as he pulled his clipboard towards him.

"I am yet another day behind…"

Mikayla entered the lab nervously.

"H-hey there." She said.

Kowalski looked at her. "I am not going to separate them again."

"No, it's alright now. Rico challenged the others to a race and Rikki went up top for some sun." Mikayla said. "You should be out there too…it's a pretty nice day out."

"I would if they hadn't caused me to fall behind in my work." Kowalski said, turning back to his damaged machines. "These were supposed to help us…Maybe I could have created a jetpack…but we'll never know now…between the kids and the adults, how am I going to advance? How on earth am I going to concentrate long enough to make even the slightest bit of difference?"

"I-uh…I don't know."

"I WILL DESTROY YOU!"

Both of them jumped at the voice. A loud clattering noise was heard followed by a series of grunts.

"What's going on?" Mikayla asked.

"STOP!"

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"DIE, SCUM!"

"What are you talking abou-AAH! HEY! THAT ALMOST HIT ME!"

"THAT WAS THE IDEA!"

Kowalski narrowed his eyes and hurried out.

"Skipper, NO!"


	54. Breakdown

"Skipper, what are you doing?!"

Marlene ducked as Skipper swung a bat at her head.

Kowalski and Mikayla ran towards them as Skipper aimed another blow.

"Mikayla, go get Rico! Marlene, get out of there!" Kowalski shouted.

Mikayla bolted from the HQ, yelling Rico's name.

Marlene managed to do a barrel roll and ended up narrowly missing the bat. She scrambled to her feet as Kowalski ran past her to block Skipper.

"What the heck are you doing?!" Kowalski asked as he ducked.

"INTRUDER! YOU WILL BE DESTROYED!"

"Skipper, it's me, Kowalski!"

He continued to evade Skipper's attacks as he tried to figure out why his leader wasn't responding.

"Skipper, what's going on? Why is this happening?" Marlene asked.

Skipper seemed unable to hear her and continued to grunt as he tried to hit Kowalski.

"Skipper?" Private called as he followed Rocky and Rico inside.

"Get Marlene out of here!" Kowalski yelled.

"No, I want to help!" Marlene said.

Kowalski was about to respond when Rico hacked up his new crowbar and blocked the bat from hitting Kowalski in his moment of distraction.

"His eyes are red!" Rocky said.

Rico and Skipper continued the duel until Rico's crowbar was knocked from his flippers. Skipper swung the bat around, making contact with Rocky.

Rocky hadn't managed to dodge in time and ended up crashing into the wall, unconscious.

Marlene grabbed the crowbar and made a mad dash towards Skipper. He nearly hit her, but she managed to disarm him. She lowered the bar, not wanting to hit him again.

Skipper lunged for the bat, but was tackled back by Kowalski. Rico hurriedly swallowed the bat and crowbar before going to Kowalski's aid.

The two of them managed to knock out their leader while Private and Marlene dragged Rocky to safety. They placed her on her bed and watched as Skipper was strapped down to a table. Marlene went to the other side of the table, looking anxiously at Skipper.

"Rico, metal detector."

Rico regurgitated a metal detector along with a small laser.

The machine began beeping almost immediately. They turned him over and the beeping became louder. Kowalski got a flashlight and began pressing his flipper along Skipper's upper back. He remembered his leader complaining about a strange itch.

Mikayla and Rikki came back in and helped Private with Rocky. She was given a cold compress for her forehead and Rikki was able to detect that her vital signs were normal and she was breathing well.

"Ah, there you are." Kowalski muttered. He squinted and zapped the laser at a spot on Skipper's spine.

Rico picked up an object that was emitting smoke. It looked like a tick.

"Put it in a bag, I'll analyze it in the lab."

Rico nodded and brought it to Kowalski's lab. When he returned, they turned Skipper over and strapped him down again to be safe.

Skipper groaned and coughed. His eyes shot open when he realized he couldn't move his flipper.

"What the deuce?"

"What's your name and rank?" Kowalski asked.

"Skipper Sorenson…technically Commander, I think…dunno and really don't care. What's going on?"

"You kind of went crazy and started whacking people with a bat." Rikki said, staring at Private. He jumped and turned her head.

"Are you okay?" Marlene asked.

"I remember someone coming in and I felt really odd…did I hurt you?" He asked.

"No, I'm fine." Marlene said.

"I don't buy that. I almost hurt you, didn't I?" Skipper rubbed his flipper once Kowalski unstrapped him. He opened his beak, but spotted his sister. "ROCKY!"

"She'll be alright." Private said.

"I hurt her…"

"Skipper, a tick-like object was found on you." Kowalski reported. "I am going to analyze it in the lab. Rico, follow me. Rikki, Mikayla, I saw a few frightened animals. Please reassure them that it was a small thing and that everything is alright now."

The two of them nodded and left.

Rocky groaned and rubbed her head, accidentally knocking the cold compress off.

"How do you feel?" Private asked.

"Like I'm the thing they stand golf balls on and a really bad player hit me with a baseball bat…" Rocky answered.

"I-I'm sorry…" Skipper said hoarsely

"It wasn't your fault." Marlene said, reaching out a consoling hand.

He jerked away. "No, it is…It's always me. I have a responsibility to the team…and to the zoo…and I-I could have killed someone!"

"But you didn't. I'm fine, really!" Rocky said. "I've had worse, believe me. I had three older brothers and you."

"No...I could have hurt someone outside our team and I nearly did."

"Skipper, I'm alright." Marlene said, trying again to touch his flipper.

Skipper backed away. "I-I can't…we can't…Marlene, it's too dangerous…we can't do this…"

"Can't what?"

"Skipper, don't." Rocky said.

Private opened and shut his beak several times, uncertain of what to say.

"We can't do this…us…we can't be together…"

"What are you saying?" Marlene said, trying not to betray emotion.

"For your safety…we can't be together. You can still be the option to babysit the kids, but…we can't be this close. It's too dangerous."

"You can make it work, right?" Private asked.

"No, Private. The closer bonds we make with others, the easier it is to get hurt if they are targeted. Marlene, I'm sorry, but we can't be together." Skipper said with a blank expression.

"I understand." Marlene said with equal blankness. "I'll be going now…see you around."

Rocky and Private's jaws dropped as Marlene left the HQ. Skipper sat on the table as if nothing had happened.

"What was that?" Rocky asked angrily. "Are you an idiot? She's into you and you're into her, why did you do that?"

"You should go too."

"Excuse me?!"

"Skipper, that's a bit harsh." Private said. "She's your sister-"

"And therefore in more danger the longer she stays."

"I am NOT in any more danger than you are." Rocky said fiercely.

"If you'll feel your head for a bump or sore spot, you'll see where I'm coming from. We can't be soft anymore. We have to be hardened soldiers, ready for anything."

Rocky was so furious, Private could have sworn he saw steam coming out her ear holes. At that moment, Kowalski and Rico came out of the lab and Skipper retreated to a corner.

"What are you doing, sir?" Kowalski asked, taking note of the tension.

"Creating our training schedules, soldier." Skipper said. "We've gotten far too soft and this changes now. Up top, men."

The others followed him to the top, Rocky glared at him the whole way and he ignored her.

"Everyone was a little nervous, but it's alright now." Mikayla said. "Er…what's going on?" She asked, looking between Skipper and Rocky.

"Civilians are not allowed in our HQ." Skipper said. "What's he doing here?" He pointed to the baby penguin in Rikki's flippers.

"Marlene said it was your turn…" Mikayla said. "And what do you mean by not allowed? Where are we supposed to sleep and hang out?"

"Don't know, don't care." Skipper said. "Are you a part of the team or not?" He asked Rocky.

"Not with you acting like that." Rocky huffed.

"Fine with me, you're considered a civilian and are therefore not allowed inside HQ."

"Skipper, I analyzed the tick and-"

"Not in front of civilians, Kowalski." Skipper snapped. "Cadet Tyson, are you willing to be a part of this team?"

Tyson jumped, startled at the harshness of tone. "Mana?"

"If you are to be a soldier in these ranks, you can't play games."

Tyson looked at the others. "Dada?"

"I'm not your dad, kid, the sooner you accept that the better."

"Skipper!" Mikayla said in shock. "H-he's a baby!"

"And he is to you as Maya is to Julien." Private said. "Neither of you are blood related, but you both love your adopted children a-"

"Love is not an option." Skipper snarled. "If we are to be an elite team, we need to get rid of sappy emotions and if that's too hard for you, then leave the team."

Private looked like he was about to cry.

"Skipper, I must tell you that this is going too far." Kowalski said.

"No it isn't. Anyone who still wants to be a part of this team can join me in there. Anyone who isn't up to being a soldier can stay up top."

Skipper zipped into the HQ, closing the hatch as he did so.

The other penguins looked around at each other, lost for words. Kowalski decided to explain that somehow, a robotic tick had taken over Skipper's mind and caused him to go crazy. He was unsure of where exactly it came from and why Skipper had such a terrible reaction.

Tyson realized after a while that Skipper wasn't coming back and he started to cry.

"Let's get him a snow cone." Kowalski suggested. "I bet we'd all love one."

"Sure." Rikki said.

"Alright." Mikayla said.

"Not in the mood." Rocky said.

Rico and Private stared at the hatch.

"Rico and I will still be on the team." Kowalski said. "Private, I am giving you the responsibility of looking after the zoo."

"But-"

"I don't want you getting hurt." Kowalski said. "This is the best way to make sure you and everyone else are safe."

"So, I should take them for snow cones?"

"Sure, Rocky can go with you."

Private pulled Rocky along before she could object.

"I swear that this is not something planned between Skipper and I this time." Kowalski said.

Rico had disappeared into the HQ. Kowalski found him staring at Skipper.

"There's no use in arguing." Kowalski said. "For now, we act as if this is normal. Rikki will be fine."

"Did I give you permission to talk behind my back?" Skipper growled.

"No sir, sorry." Kowalski said.

"Where's the Private?"

"He-"

"Left the team. Figures." Skipper scoffed as he rifled through classified files. "Men, I want this place to have increased security."

"But our security is-"

"WEAK! IT'S WEAK AND YOU KNOW IT! I WANT IT FIXED NOW!" He had dropped the files and ran up to Kowalski, slapping him.

Rico growled.

"You got a problem, soldier?" Skipper snapped, poking Rico in the chest.

"No, he has no problem, sir." Kowalski said.

"I wasn't asking you."

Rico shook his head.

"Good, I want no problems or else you're off the team. Now fix the stupid security system."

"Please." Kowalski whispered.

Rico nodded at Kowalski and slipped off.

SMACK!

Kowalski was thrown to the floor.

"I am the one who gives orders, NOT YOU!" Skipper growled. "How dare you challenge MY authority!"

"I wasn't challenging you, sir."

"Don't do it again!"

"No, sir, never again."

Skipper marched back to his files.

Kowalski went to help Rico.

"Sorry, Rico, but I owe a lot to him."

"Zander."

"He can't act like Zander…not when Johnny was his hero. Our leader is a very complex penguin."

Rico nodded.

"Hello, silly penguins!" Julien's voice rang out.

"Pengy!" Maya squealed.

"Hey, do not be pointing that at the royal booties!"

Rico and Kowalski hurried to the main room to see Skipper holding a cannon, aiming it at the lemurs.

"We have no room for intru-"

"CIVILIANS!" Kowalski yelled, smacking the weapon away. "They're civilians."

"What the hecks is going on?"

"Just get out of here, Julien."

"I am King! I must know what happens."

"Julien, I am going to rip off your arm and stick it in your nose if you don't shut up and leave."

"Shu' up?" Maya said.

"Hey, that's a no-no word!" Julien said.

"ARE YOU TELLING ME TO SHUT UP?" Skipper yelled.

Maya's eyes widened in shock. She scrambled up the ladder and out of sight.

"Good going, bub. Now I gots to track her down."

"GET OUT, IDIOT!"

"Julien, please get Maya and stay away from here for a while."

"Fine, you fishy-smelling penguins are no fun-HEY!"

Skipper had thrown the television remote, missing Julien's head by an inch.

"What's the matter with you? You're acting like that crabby guy who dared to throw my baby over de fence- OKAY, I'M LEAVING!" He shrieked, spotting the cannon back in Skipper's flippers.

Rico swallowed the weapon as Julien's tail disappeared from view.

Skipper smacked the other two penguins.

"THAT is why you should update the security system."

"WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?" Kowalski yelled.

"Nothing."

"You got a problem, spill it."

"Don't talk to me like that, soldier."

"Fine, Zander."

Skipper growled. "WHAT did you just call me?"

"You heard me." Kowalski said with equal fierceness.

"You're asking for trouble!"

"No, you are. You're acting like Zander. You're pushing everyone away and threatening civilians. Johnny wouldn't have done any of this. If you're going to act like you're the only one who's still affected by everything, then I'm done."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I quit." Kowalski turned on the spot and began to exit.

"He's a coward. Rico, is the securi- Rico? What's that expression for?"

Rico shook his head and followed Kowalski out.

Skipper held his head in pain and then screamed.

"You quit too? FINE, I don't need you. I DON'T NEED ANYONE!"

"_That's right, Skipper…you don't need anyone. And that will be your downfall." A shadowed figure chuckled evilly. The penguins had evidentially overlooked the hidden camera. "If you loved my last trick, you're going to really hate this one."_

_A cloaked animal had been spying on the shadowed one. The spy disappeared quickly and hurried to the meeting location._

"_Mr. Rockgut?"_

_Buck Rockgut jumped and swatted the air._

"_It's me."_

"_Well?"_

"_He's targeting your teammate's nephew's team captain. Where's your teammate?"_

"_He went for tea or something…British…" Buck scoffed._

"_Nigel's nephew is in trouble and so is his team. The target is Skipper."_

"_I can't do anything."_

"_Of course, but I can find someone who can."_

"_I already did."_

"_Then why did you say you couldn't-? Never mind, who are you going to send?"_

"_You."_

"_WHAT?! You're a crazy old man, there's no way!"_

"_Whatever happened, GET OVER IT. You know why? Because the enemy is about to strike."_

"_Skipper won't be happy to see me."_

"_I don't care. You owe me for saving your butt last month." Buck growled. "Don't groan at me, you know exactly where you'd be without me."_

"_Fine. Been bribed by an old man…How am I supposed to get there?"_

"_HAHAHAHA!" Buck laughed. "You can figure that out! See ya." He disappeared in a flash, leaving the cloaked figure alone._

"_What have I gotten myself into?"_

**Beginning of chapter 46, I stated someone was spying on them with a surveillance camera.**


	55. The crazy penguin

One week later, the zoo was trying not to fall apart again. Kowalski took command of the rest of the team, with Rocky helping, but they knew it wasn't the same. Skipper kept himself hidden in the underground base, ignoring everyone above. Alice didn't seem to care that one penguin had mysteriously disappeared, neither did the people.

After a while, they stopped trying to convince him to come out and simply carried on their lives. Julien tried inviting Skipper to a party, but ended up getting five fish thrown in his face.

It seemed boring, Rico tried blowing something up for fun but it didn't feel the same. Kowalski tried not to let the mood make the team weak, but it was falling faster than he could possibly imagine.

The penguins used Marlene's habitat as a temporary hideout while Skipper banned them from coming in.

One morning in mid-May, Rikki woke up before anyone else. She found her way to the brick wall and jumped up onto it. She heard another penguin getting up to join her.

"Hey, Rikki."

"Mikayla?"

"Yep."

Rikki nodded. "Are the boys still asleep?"

"Yep, them and Rocky. They're all tired."

Rikki nodded again, but didn't speak. The two of them sat in silence for a while.

"What was that noise?" Rikki asked, breaking the silence.

Mikayla looked around. "From the sewer." She saw the cover being moved slightly. "Someone's there."

The two penguins went over to investigate it. "Hello?" Mikayla asked.

"Mikayla!" A young male voice said. A penguin shot out of the sewer, followed by a young female.

"Charlie?"

Charlie nodded. "Hi! I don't think we were officially introduced. I'm Charlie."

"AND I'M TAMMY!"

"Shush!"

"I'm Rikki." The blind penguin said. "And I'm sure I'll know your voices in an instant."

Mikayla stifled a laugh.

"What are you two doing here?"

"We were helping someone come here." Charlie explained. "She needs to talk to the penguins, but isn't sure if she's welcome here."

"Is it this Jordan girl I've heard about?" Rikki asked.

"No." Tammy said happily. She threw off the cover to reveal an annoyed looking female penguin.

"Thanks for blowing my cover." She said dryly.

"You're welcome!" Tammy said.

Rikki shook her head. "Well, if you're looking for a team then you're out of luck." She sighed. "There's not really a team anymore."

"What?!" The penguin said. "No, they have to be a team! This is an emergency! There's someone after them and this crazy lemur joined him."

"Before you say anything 'classified', I should tell you that Rikki and I are not part of the team."

"Oh."

"RICO!" Tammy squealed, spotting the psychotic penguin.

"Uh-oh!" Rico ran, trying to get away from her. He yelled wildly while Tammy squealed, effectively waking everyone in the otter habitat.

"Tammy? What are you doing here?" Private asked. She didn't appear to hear him.

"I'm here!" Charlie said.

"Charlie!" Private said. "How did you guys get here?" He asked as Kowalski attempted to pry Tammy off of Rico's head.

"We did a secret mission!" He said brightly. "We were escorting someone here so she can tell Skipper something…only; she wasn't sure about seeing you guys again."

"Jordan's okay with us." Kowalski said. He managed to get Tammy off of Rico and held onto a flipper so she wouldn't run off. The penguins jumped onto the wall as Marlene, Izzy, Nat, and Tyson ambled out of the habitat.

"Uh…about that-"

"Hello."

Kowalski's face paled at the sight of the penguin.

"NO! WHAT?! HOW COULD YOU-? CHARLIE! WHAAAT? NOOOOO!" He panted, letting go of Tammy.

He screamed and bolted into the penguin HQ.

"Well, that was dramatic."

"What are you doing here?"

Private glared at her, his flippers up in defense. Rico growled at the penguin. Rocky took note of the body language and became wary. She had only seen these recruits in passing, never getting the full story. Rikki, Nat, Izzy, and Mikayla were oblivious to what happened. Marlene held Tyson closer.

"Hey! You're the crazy penguin!"

They saw Julien marching over. "You knocked me out and made smarty booty crazy!"

"What are you doing here, Nora?" Private asked.

"I-"

"GET OUT OF MY ZOO!"

Skipper had finally emerged. He was furious.

"Not until you hear what I've got to say." She said.

"Why should I?"

"Because I listened to you!"

Skipper blinked. It was true; she had listened to him back in South America when the village had to be relocated.

"To answer your question Skipper, I was falling apart and I couldn't stop it. But you are not falling apart. I've been working for Buck Rockgut for a while now. He had me spy on someone who was responsible for that robot attack."

"Josie!" Julien gasped. "Who is responsible? Tell me!"

"Simon."

"But he's dead!" Skipper said. "Or at least we thought he was…"

"He managed to slip out and he's spying on you. There's a spy bug in your habitat and another chip in your head, driving you nuts. He's also joined by a rather insane lemur."

"Lemur?"

"Her name is Sasha."

Julien let out a deep growl, his face was dark. "I am going to kill her."

"Julien-"

"SHE KILLED MY MOTHER!" He snapped.

"S-sorry…" Nora said. The lemur looked quite insane.

Nat's jaw dropped at Julien's behavior. She hated to admit, but he was actually intimidating her a little.

"She knows about your baby."

Julien's fists clenched tighter. "No one threatens my Maya."

"And no one threatens my zoo." Skipper said.

"So, you think you can take her down faster this time or do I have to show you how it's done?" Rocky asked.

Skipper smirked.

"Hey, Mikayla, can you check on Kowalski?" Private asked.

Mikayla nodded and hurried to the HQ.

…

Kowalski was curled up in a ball inside his lab when he heard a small knock at the door.

"Kowalski?"

He shook, not answering.

"Kowalski, it's Mikayla. Private sent me to check on you."

Silence.

"Alright, I'm coming in."

Kowalski scooted into the shadows as Mikayla entered. She looked around at the many items in the room.

"Is this that stuff Nat drank to look like Josie?" Mikayla asked, looking at a bottle labeled 'Danger' on the desk.

"No." Kowalski answered in a low voice.

"Oh, then what is it?"

"It's an extract of whatever bit or scratched me in Antarctica."

"Gross."

"Why are you here?"

"Well, they sent me to check on you. And Nora said she came to warn us that Simon's the one who planted the robot and he's spying on us. He's messing with Skipper's brain and some lemur named Sasha joined him."

Kowalski shook his head. "East side lemurs…"

"Are you okay?"

"Scarred."

"What do you mean?" She saw Kowalski coming out of the shadows and sat next to him. He stiffened, but didn't run.

"Nora was one of our recruits…you met Charlie, right?"

"Yeah."

"She came with Charlie, Tammy, and Dan."

Mikayla nodded, not remembering if she met Dan.

"Nora betrayed us and…she hurt me…"

"I'm sorry."

Kowalski offered a small smile. "Not your fault. You didn't know."

They sat together for a while. Mikayla patted Kowalski on the back.

"Should we trust her?" Kowalski wondered out loud. "Simon and Sasha were pretty tough opponents…but then again, Nora was Blowhole's agent…"

Mikayla held Kowalski's flipper. "You're very brave. And you told me to trust you and not worry. Maybe you should trust her word this time."

"After everything she put me through…I don't know…"

"I don't know either."

Kowalski gave her a weird look. "Aren't you supposed to help me?"

"That wasn't in my job description. I'm the unofficial babysitter."

They laughed.

"Thank you." Kowalski said. "I think I know what to do now."

"Something other than scream and panic?"

"Yes. Trust me."

Mikayla rolled her eyes. "Just go." She got up and started pushing him towards the door.

"Seriously, thanks." Kowalski said. He gave her a peck on the cheek and left.

She blinked and turned, coming face to face with the 'Danger' bottle. "Why do I think that's just pus?" She wondered with a shudder.

…

Kowalski avoided eye contact with Nora when he rejoined the others. He agreed to have a look inside Skipper's head. Using complicated devices, he remained silent as he examined the leader. He sat Skipper on a strange chair and attached two wired to his head. The scientist also had the leader wearing a large and strange looking vest around his neck.

"This might hurt."

"Wha-? AAAGGH!" Skipper gripped the sides of the chair as a surge of electricity flowed into his head. "K-KO-WAL-SKIIII!"

When the device had turned off, Skipper slumped forward unconscious. Kowalski held up a flipper for no interruptions. He put on strange looking goggles as he looked at his computer screen.

Rocky was looking anxiously at them, wanting to shout at the scientist, wondering if her brother was okay. The others shared her fears, but stayed silent. The only one who didn't react was Nora. She stared forward. She was under the watch of Rico who was ordered to take her down if she made one wrong move. Private had a tight grip on Tammy, making sure the hyperactive penguin didn't go after Rico's head.

Skipper twitched as Kowalski sent smaller waves of electricity into the shorter penguin.

"Please leave for the next part." Kowalski said.

Everyone except for Rocky complied with the request.

"Rocky, this isn't going to be pretty."

"I don't care! I want to know what you're doing with my brother."

"Behind you."

Rocky spun around.

"What?"

"The spy bug, it's right where you're looking."

Rocky examined the wall until Kowalski told her to stop. She squinted as she saw a strange bump. She took out a laser that Rico had given her and zapped the bump until she heard a light pop and saw a small trickle of smoke.

She then looked around to see Kowalski sticking something into Skipper's ear hole. She shuddered. The scientist did tell her it wasn't going to be pretty.

Kowalski's deep, slow breath was the only sound that Rocky heard. The scientist's beak moved, but no sound came out.

Rocky tried not to panic as she watched Kowalski pulling the device out. The scientist sighed when it was finally out, holding a small item which he placed in a Petri dish. He then cleaned out the small amount of blood that had come out when he pulled it out.

He went back in there with a different device, but this one didn't draw any blood this time.

"Cleaning." Kowalski said in response to Rocky's look.

He put several drops of something in Skipper's ear hole and covered it.

"For any pain."

Rocky didn't respond.

He waited a few minutes and then removed the covering. He then increased the electricity. Skipper shook again, but didn't wake up.

"Uh-oh…"


	56. Guilt

"UH-OH?!" Rocky shrieked. "Don't tell me you killed my brother!"

"I-it should be working in a moment."

"Should?!"

"Relax, please."

"What? No! You can't tell me to relax when my brother's been shocked!"

"It wasn't enough to kill him!" Kowalski said.

"But it might have been enough to put him in a coma!"

"Hang on, I'm thinking!"

"Stop thinking and just do something! My brother's life is in danger!"

"Could you stop yelling?"

Rocky groaned in frustration. Tears were threatening to fall. "He's the only one I have left besides Mom…"

"I know, I'm trying." Kowalski sighed. He then shot up. "He's too hot…could you get me a bucket of water?"

Rocky nodded. She ran up and asked Rico for a bucket. The two of them brought a few buckets down and watched Kowalski.

Kowalski grabbed a rag and began cooling Skipper off. One of the buckets was frozen by Rico and broken into ice pieces. The ice was spread on a table and they put Skipper on it. Rico went back up to keep an eye on Nora again.

"Stimulate natural penguin environment." Kowalski explained.

Rocky's flipper entered her mouth nervously. She bit down on it with her beak, not caring that she actually drew a tiny amount of blood. The scientist worked in silence, which did nothing to calm Rocky's nerves. He wouldn't even look at her or offer any expressions. He looked as if he was working on a particularly difficult exam question.

"Rocky, please go up top."

"No way."

Kowalski looked at her imploringly. Rocky was adamant. Her flippers curled threateningly and she stiffened.

"Then can I give you something to do? I need you to trace the origins of these devices." Kowalski said, pointing to the chips.

"How do you expect me to just leave my brother?"

"I need you to go up top and speak with the others about finding the spy."

"You want me to leave him?" She asked incredulously. "Yeah right! I don't even know what you're doing. Just tell me what's going on!"

Kowalski slammed his flipper on the table. "Go. Up. Top." He growled.

"MAKE ME!"

"This is not up for discussion."

"I WON'T DO IT! YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!"

"You won't do it even if it's crucial to Skipper's survival?"

"SHUT UP! JUST FIX MY BROTHER! YOU BROKE HIM YOU B-"

"ROCKY!" Kowalski snapped. "There are children and young animals who will not hear that sort of language on my watch. I am trying to fix him. I don't think you want to see a large needle poked into him. It's especially not going to be pretty when he wakes up and realizes he was just injected as he has a phobia of needles."

"I don't care. I'm not leaving."

"Fine, then tell Private to come down here."

"PRIVATE!" Rocky screamed. Kowalski glared at her.

"Hello?" Private poked his head in. "I heard shouting, is everything alright?"

"Take these devices and examine them with the others, please." Kowalski gestured to the items.

"Yes sir." Private hurried down and went back out without question.

"Now there's someone who listens."

Rocky growled deeply. "Well HIS brother wasn't looking like he was just shocked to death. He also doesn't remember his father dying and he never had three older brothers who died, the pain of memories flooding him every single day. The only reason I'm not a pile of grief is because of Skipper. He and I had each other in Antarctica and that was enough. Skipper was almost taken from me once, and I'm sure you saw his determination to find me."

Kowalski sighed. "I'm sorry, okay? I just can't handle…her…being here and…I don't know what to do."

"She almost killed us so; I don't really care what happens to her. Don't pay much attention to her." Rocky said. "Just keep going on with your life. We have a goal and you shouldn't get sidetracked."

Rocky flinched as Kowalski brought out the needle.

"What? You're not afraid of needles, are you?"

"Only if you named it." Rocky joked. "No, but I was there when Skipper was injected with needles and every time I see one I hear his little kid screams."

"Why was he injected?"

"Zander threw darts at us during training. Our mother was furious when she found out."

"I imagine Sarah was even angrier, but when was he injected?"

"He had routine doctor appointments, but he hated the sharp pointy parts that reminded him of the darts…and I was always taking him to the infirmary…and the one barricading the door so he wouldn't get out."

Kowalski shook his head. He carefully looked for a vein before inserting the needle.

"Rest assured, this is going to help him."

Rocky couldn't help but flinching again when it came out.

"He's okay. I just overwhelmed him a bit and his immune system kicked in. Swarms of blood cells went to heal the injury, but I cleaned it and his body didn't know what to do and just overheated. He's fine."

"Okay…"

"Yeah, this is why I don't want to be a doctor." Kowalski said. "I scare the families of patients."

Rocky grinned.

Skipper groaned. He was helped into a sitting position by Kowalski and Rocky.

"Ugh…"

"What's your name? Age? Rank?"

"Skipper…twenty-seven…Commander…"

"He's alright." Kowalski said. "Skipper, do you remember what happened?"

"We were baby proofing the place because Maya got into my coffee and nearly squished by Burt…"

"That was about a year ago."

"Really?"

"Josie's de-" He caught Rocky's expression. "I mean, Josie passed away…and she lost the baby."

"Maya?"

"No, Juliana."

"Wait…weren't we-?" He caught sight of Rocky.

"Hey, little bro."

"It's very fuzzy, but I remember yelling and hitting someone…"

"It was me." Kowalski said. "But it was an accident." He caught Rocky's eye, silently telling her to go with it.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Wait a minute…Nora's here." Skipper rubbed his head.

Kowalski shuddered.

"What's going on?" The leader asked.

Kowalski sighed and explained. "Sir, you were taken over by two mind controlling bugs and we destroyed the spy as well. Currently, Private is with the others and examining the devices to trace their origins."

"Alright, we better go examine them."

"You should know…you kind of broke up the team." Rocky said. "And broke up with Marlene…and yelled at Tyson."

Skipper's beak dropped. "I-I-what?"

"I'm sorry, but it was kind of out of our control." Kowalski said.

Skipper sighed heavily. He mumbled something dejectedly and simply headed up and out. Kowalski cleaned up while Rocky followed her brother out.

They found Rico, Private, Charlie, and Nora up top.

"Where's everyone else?" Rocky asked.

"Rikki challenged Tammy to a game of hide and seek." Private said.

"She said she'd explain how that works later." Charlie said. "Mikayla and Marlene are hanging out in the otter habitat with Nat and Izzy."

"Maya's with Julien and Tyson's with Mikayla." Private added.

"Julien." Rico said, pointing at the lemur. Julien glared at Nora from his throne.

"Well, he's being subtle." Rocky remarked.

"Sarcasm, sister." Skipper said.

"How are you feeling?" Private asked.

"I could be better, soldier. Now, let's figure out what to do."

"The spies were planning on attacking in a few days." Nora said.

"And when were you planning on telling us?"

"Before you freaked out."

"Are we back to this banter?"

"Are you threatening to punish your way or Rico's way again?"

"Leaning heavily towards Rico's way."

"Then yes, we're back to this banter."

Kowalski reluctantly came back up top to help with the planning.

He refused to be next to Nora and tried to ignore her for the most part. He put on a blank expression, looking as he did when he had infiltrated the enemy's base. Private was worried, but he didn't say anything.

Skipper had Rico keep close watch on Nora while he went around the zoo to apologize. Having a huge amount of pride, it was a blow to admit he had done something wrong to civilians. He felt it was a sign of weakness to apologize, but Rocky told him that it would help the other residents trust him again.

Most of the zoo accepted it with indifference. The only ones who were concerned before he went to the lemur and otter habitats were Becky, Stacy, and Doris. Exiting the aquarium, he started to think that maybe having Doris on their side was a good thing. He made a mental note to try to talk about Doris with Kowalski when he had the chance.

His second to last stop was the lemur habitat. Julien tested Skipper's patience by complaining and insulting the penguin for about an hour before Maya woke up from her nap. Skipper tried to apologize to the young lemur, but she shrunk away with fearful eyes. Maurice tried to assure the penguin that Maya would eventually forgive him. Skipper reluctantly accepted this as he went to the otter habitat.

He found Rikki and Tammy playing a game on the brick wall. Rikki accepted Skipper's apology.

He met Nat, Izzy, Mikayla, and Tyson outside the cave. He apologized to all of them. Izzy, being Izzy, accepted the apology right away and shook Skipper's flipper while welcoming him back. Nat simply nodded. She didn't know if he was back to normal, but she wanted to stay in his good books. Mikayla hesitantly accepted this, having been nervous of the penguins from the first day. Tyson, however, had the same reaction as Maya. The baby penguin hid behind Mikayla. She tried to get him to come out, but he refused.

Skipper felt a twinge of pain. Guilt flooded him as he looked at his adopted son. He sighed deeply and headed inside the cave. The female otter had her back turned to the entrance and was dusting off a painting of a bowl of fruit.

"Whatever you broke, I'm not fixing it." Marlene said. "I mean it, Nat."

Skipper didn't respond.

"Izzy, if you're trying to prank me again, stop. It was funny the first three times." Marlene laughed a little.

Skipper stepped forward, but still did not speak.

Marlene thought she heard a small tap that sounded like a webbed foot. She had become good at detecting different foot taps since Tyson arrived.

"Mikayla, is Tyson too hard to manage?" Marlene asked.

"He hates me." Skipper finally spoke. His voice was hoarse.

Marlene froze. Her fist clenched tighter around the duster.

"And you hate me too…" Skipper continued. "I wasn't acting like myself and I'm sorry. It was a spy bug that took over my head…but I know that's no good excuse…I could have brought it up sooner…I'm stupid, okay? I-" he sighed. "I don't accept Nora's presence, but we need her to help us…and I'm certain this means another mission…a dangerous one."

He paused, waiting for her to react. She hadn't moved or made any indications of speaking.

"You know, if I run into trouble on this mission I could get hurt or worse." Skipper said. "If you didn't say anything, wouldn't you feel bad that you didn't get everything off your chest? Go ahead; I won't hold it against you. You hate me, so…say it."

Marlene threw down the duster and turned to face him.

"I don't hate you." She said angrily. "Hate is a strong emotion reserved for those who try to harm my family, my friends, or myself. I hold no hatred for you. But you trying to make me feel bad is just as bad as the people threatening us. You don't do that to ANYBODY, do you understand? You don't make them feel bad, don't provoke them into answering."

"Yes, ma'am." Skipper said.

Marlene's expression softened slightly. "Tyson doesn't hate you either." She said. "He's just as confused and scared as Maya. They don't hate you; they're kids who don't even know the meaning of the word yet."

"Marlene, do you forgive me?"

"I was ready to forgive you, but a week…I don't know…you said some pretty hurtful things…"

"I want to be friends again." Skipper said. "Even if we never get back our relationship…what was it anyway?"

"Jumping too fast into one." Marlene said.

"I don't want us to end up like Julien and Josie." Skipper said. "But you can still be Tyson's mother and I still want to be his father…but…we can't be together. For the sake of our safety, we can't…It hurts, you know?"

Marlene nodded. "I understand your reasoning." She turned away. "It was nice seeing you, Skipper."

"You too, Marlene." Skipper exited the habitat to see Tyson staring up at him. "Hey there, cadet!" He patted the younger penguin before leaving.

Tyson stared questioningly at Skipper and then shrugged it off.

Skipper returned to his team to see them separated into two groups. Kowalski worked with Private and Charlie while Rico worked with Nora. Kowalski said he had started to get a panic attack and decided to split the team. Skipper accepted this and worked with Rico and Nora.

They were beginning to get a solid plan of attack. Nora knew where the base was and they knew who they wanted on the team. Tammy was to stay at the zoo. Julien begged to be on the team so he could get revenge against Sasha. Nat wanted to join the team to get revenge on Simon. The two lemurs decided to call another temporary truce since they were working towards similar goals.

Rico worked on setting an alarm system around Nora's bed in case she tried anything funny. It would notify them as soon as she got out of bed. There was also an alarm on the lab door for when Kowalski was in there. However, the lab alarm had been disabled in the morning when Kowalski was rushing to the bathroom and back into his lab. He forgot to set it again.

Nat came to visit the penguins in the morning as they headed up top to practice. Rico was searching for Nora. He hurriedly went to check the storage room and the bathroom.

Nat shrugged and was about to leave when he heard a shriek.

"Wait, I just wanted to-"

"GET OUT! GET OUTTA MY LAB! RICO!"

Nat's heart pounded as she wrenched the lab door open. She saw Kowalski begin to go into a panic attack and the female penguin standing in front of him. Without thinking, Nat jumped forward and tackled Nora to the ground.

"Get off!"

Nat ignored the penguin. The two began to smack and kick at each other. Kowalski would have broken it up, but he couldn't breathe or move.

"I was trying to talk!" Nora yelled.

"SHUT UP!" Nat screamed.

"You betrayed them first!"

This earned a punch from Nat.

"I know what I did! You DELIBERATELY tried to KILL my best friend! I tried to correct my mistake right away!" The lemur screamed.

"HEY!" Rico burst in and took in the scene before dragging the two females off each other. "Out!" He growled at Nora.

The penguin huffed and exited the room. She was confronted immediately by an angry Skipper. She tried to fend off his questions, but he was having none of it.

Rico waited until Nat promised she wouldn't do anything and released her. Nat panted and looked at Kowalski.

"You okay?" She asked.

Kowalski nodded numbly.

"Okay." Nat said. She exited the room to see Nora storming out of the HQ, followed by Rico who was still under orders to watch her.

"Nat." Skipper said.

Nat sighed. "I know, no fighting..."

"It's not that." Skipper made eye contact with the lemur. "Do you still blame yourself for what happened?"

"I blame myself for Izzy's disappearance. I blame myself for Emma's death…I could have gone with them…most of all; I blame myself for leaving Kowalski. I should have known Izzy was fine…And I definitely blame myself for putting everyone in danger." Nat said. "I couldn't protect my friends. Josie got hit in the stomach and Private was beaten up because of me. I felt the bumps on his head…and I still remember how all of that felt…all the guilt."

"I guess we both have guilt." Skipper said. "But we can't be focused on that. Can we work together on this? Work to leave the guilt behind and let go."

"Yeah, let it go…" Nat said. "Thanks, Captain Paranoia."

"You're welcome, Drama Queen." Skipper said with a slight smile.

Nat grinned. She exited the habitat in search of Izzy.

Skipper looked through files until he heard Kowalski come out of the lab. The scientist approached the leader and sat down next to him. Skipper explained the conversations with Marlene and Nat. Kowalski nodded. Skipper also told him that he was okay with Doris being an ally. Kowalski felt happy about that.

"If you want to be friends, I'm okay with that. Just make sure she's not passing information." Skipper said. "And that it isn't going to change your training."

"Aye-aye, captain." Kowalski said. "I'll do that after this mission. When's the planned day of attack?"

"Tomorrow."

Kowalski blinked in surprise. "That soon?"

Skipper nodded curtly. "We're chipping away the bonds Blowhole has. We need to isolate him and Koru. If we get rid of the ties, we get that much closer to him. Do you accept this mission?"

"Absolutely." Kowalski said.

**A/N: Of course I won't kill Skipper. Don't bite my head off for breaking up Skilene! I love the pairing, just…trust me. Trust me as much as Skipper trusts his team. **

**Since probably not many people read my profile, I will explain my summer disappearance: My computer broke. It went all crazy and decided not to work when I was trying to write. I couldn't access my computer until mid-August. I was also busy and could not explain it to you because the end of summer was just very busy.**

**Currently, I am studying for my midterm but had time to send these out. Yes, it takes forever to update and I'm sorry. I do want to continue these stories so thank you for being patient with me.**


	57. Don't take her life for yours

Skipper tried to contact the Antarctic Force Base, but Sarah did not respond. In fact, he couldn't get into contact with anyone over there and it worried him. He tried to contact the village, but no one answered. Charlie had been in the village and followed Tammy when she wandered off. They had tried to return after two weeks, but the village was deserted. They tried to see if anyone was at the Base, but it had been demolished except for the Memorial Wall and foundation of the large training ground that the animals had gathered on.

Startled by the new information, Skipper had tried everything he could, but to no avail. The others began to worry too. He would have been glad for even a response from Jordan or Dan, but he got zip. No responses. Bianca, the human who had helped them before, said she hadn't been able to get into contact with anyone and it was a bit disconcerting.

He decided that they should carry out the mission anyway, just in case. Tammy was to stay here with the other Zoo animals. They had a hard time convincing Charlie to stay, but he gave in at the end when they said that he was really one of the only ones who could calm Tammy down.

The ones going on the mission were Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, Private, Rocky, Nat, Julien, and Nora. Skipper expressed concern about Nat and Julien's safety, but they were adamant. Nat promised she'd obey any order from Skipper, but Julien was harder to persuade. Finally, they gave up trying to convince Julien of anything. He had the same goal as Nat, getting revenge on Simon and Sasha. He had a vengeance against Simon now that he knew who exactly sent the robot that killed Josie.

They left early in the morning, careful not to wake anyone. Yes, even Julien was uncharacteristically silent. He hadn't told Mort where he was going of course, but he told Maurice. The older lemur sighed and told the king to be careful.

Skipper realized that they only had one plane left and it was in rough shape, but acceptable to use. He told Kowalski to make a mental note to build a new plane and a new submarine, both transport devices having been drowned. One was shut off and abandoned above Madagascar and the other had been blown up when rescuing Marlene and Kowalski during the infiltration.

They now rode in the plane, still oddly silent. It was an awkward silence that gave everyone a small feeling of fear. Most masked it well. Private couldn't help but shake every so often. It was unnerving since the plane was very crowded with six penguins and two lemurs.

Their destination was a small, abandoned island not too far from Canada.

Before they could get there, however, the plane started to emit a high pitched whine. They had to land miles away from their destination to find someone that Rocky had heard about who could fix almost anything.

They found a rundown old shack with an old plane partially covered outside. The group headed to the door and Kowalski knocked.

"I ain't sellin' my merch!" A gruff voice rang out.

"What?" Kowalski asked.

"I'm not buying." Rocky said.

A scuffling noise was heard and then the door opened to reveal an old raccoon with a blade of grass between his teeth.

"Eh? Who're you? I'm tellin' ya, I sold a perfectly legal part and whoever tells ya differen'…ah, they're a bunch o liars!" He grumbled. "By the way, I ain't lettin' you stay the night." He added, getting a better look at their group. "I don't do overnighters…"

"Hey, we need your help." Rocky said.

"I 'member you." He said. "You're the lass who got me to get 'er the last good plane I had."

"But we saw a plane out there." Private said.

"Were you not listenin', lad? I said good plane. Tha' plane out there might as well be called Ol' Deathtrap…lousy bucket of rust 'n bolts…"

"Rusty, we need you to fix our plane. We have an important mission and-"

"Say no more." Rusty said, cutting across Rocky. "I'll fix the thing for ya', but ya gotta promise not to break that one…or else yer gonna give me a bad reputation 'round these parts."

"Sorry, Rusty." Rocky said with a small blush.

"Eh." Rusty followed the group out to the plane. He examined the outside, seeming pleased with the turbines and wheels. He looked in the engine and gasped. "Wha' have you done with this? Completely shot…how yeh even got here is beyond me…aye, yer not getting anywhere with this engine."

"But we have to get going in a hurry, can you fix it?" Skipper asked.

"Yeesh, yer almost as bad as that lad…" He pointed to Private. "Clean yer ear holes an' listen. I said yer not getting anywhere with THIS engine. I didn't say nuthin' 'bout using Ol' Deathtrap's engine."

"Eh, excuse me foul smelling raccoon?" Julien said. "I am not feeling comfortable with using an engine dat has come from de word 'death'."

The penguins and Nat groaned. They had noticed Rusty's smell, but politely refrained from mentioning it. The raccoon smelled of airplane fuel and rotten fish.

The raccoon snarled at the lemur. Julien whimpered and hid behind Rocky.

"Learn you some manners why don't ya…" Rusty grumbled. "Ol' Deathtrap is named 'cause he falls 'part faster than a house 'o cards. The engine is perfectly fine, though."

The penguins nodded. Rusty removed the engines and begun to replace the old one. He caught the red lettering that said Dynamite and he chortled.

"So, Rusty, have you heard from anyone from Antarctica?" Skipper asked.

"Last I heard, Kent told us 'go home'. Not heard from no one since."

"Double negative." Kowalski whispered to Nat.

"Aye! I'm old, but I still heard ya, lad!" Rusty snapped. "Just a few more years 'til retirement…"

"You are retired." Rocky said.

"Yeah, I'm gonna die fixin' planes…alright!" He stepped back with a rag. "Got 'er done! Right, now when yer mission's done, come 'n I'll look over it again. "

"Thank you." Skipper said.

The others said their thanks.

"Yeah, jus' promise you'll take care o' her. Dynamite here ain't a fighter."

"Yes sir!" The group said with a salute.

Rusty smiled and rolled his eyes. "Alright, go on yer mission!"

They waved as they departed.

"He looks so old and greasy." Nat said.

"But he's a great mechanic…although he gave me Ol' Deathtrap's cousin, Bucket o' Bolts." Rocky said. "Seriously though, he is one of the only agents left that can fix machines the way he does."

…

It was a shorter ride to the island this time. Even though it was summer, the weather up north was a bit cold. The lemurs shivered from the cold as they got off the plane. Private shivered too, but from nerves. The plane ride had seemed so fast and they were already there.

Nora led them further inland until they spotted the base. It looked about the same as the underwater one, but there were no soldiers guarding it.

"Is Blowhole going to be there?" Private asked.

Nora shook her head. "He shouldn't be. For all intents and purposes, Simon is dead to him. He has no army, only Sasha."

"And how do we know you won't betray us?" Skipper said.

Nora gave him a shrug. "I suppose we'll find out."

Julien and Nat exchanged incredulous looks. Private looked momentarily frightened and looked at Kowalski. Kowalski scowled, but hid it once he saw Private turn to him. He smiled encouragingly.

The others didn't respond. The group continued silently and stealthily, trying not to make a sound. Julien needed lessons very badly. He crashed into at least four things, yelping every time he fell onto the ground or hit his toe on a rock.

Nora gave him a nasty look as if she wanted to strangle him for making so much noise. Skipper growled lightly and Nora turned away from Julien to focus on the mission.

"Alright, we got our teams?" Skipper asked.

"Yes sir, Rocky, Private, and I will hack into the computer's mainframe and extract all the information that we can." Kowalski responded. "The rest of you will face Simon and Sasha."

Skipper nodded.

"Nora, what can you tell us about security?" The leader asked.

"There is nothing but one alarm that can easily be taken out." Nora said. "He's slipping, no security whatsoever for either of them. There are literally two animals in the whole place and they are our targets. He's slipping fast and someone has to end it. I'd gladly do it…he deserves death."

Private felt nauseated. He didn't like Simon, but the way that Nora spoke about ending the meerkat's life…he suppressed a shudder. Rocky gave him a sympathetic look.

The group scoured the perimeter, looking for the alarm. Nora led Rico to the alarm which was taken out in two seconds.

They entered the building silently, there was no one there. It seemed quiet and empty, but they decided to go through the vents to be safer. The eight of them split up, Kowalski's group going to the left, and Skipper's group going to the right.

…

Kowalski's group froze when they heard a crazed cackle. They saw Sasha below them, punching what looked like a picture of Julien that was stuck on a punching bag. They exchanged looks and continued. They reached a room full of computers, but Simon was in it. Kowalski decided to wait for Skipper and the others.

…

Skipper had heard the cackle and decided that his group should exit the ventilation system. The five of them jumped down, but only four were quiet. Julien had smacked down on his face and let out a pained yelp.

"Ouch! My royal nose!"

"Idiot!" Nora said, slapping the lemur.

"Shut up!" Skipper hissed.

Rico and Nat looked around the corner. They quickly whipped their heads back.

"Sasha's coming." Nat said.

"Kaboom?" Rico asked.

"Not yet." Skipper said. He signaled the group to hide. They found an empty room and hid.

"Ooh, food!" Julien said, spotting a bowl of fruit.

Nat pulled him back. "Only if you want to die." She said.

Nora gave the female lemur an inquisitive look.

"Yeah, you're not in my good books." Nat said.

"Why not? I didn't do anything to you. And you don't like Julien from what I can see."

"You hurt my best friend." Nat said. "And smacking Julien around is my territory."

"Quiet!" Skipper said.

A loud crashing noise, followed by scream reached them.

"SKIPPA!"

"Private!" Skipper was about to bolt out of the door when he came face to face with Sasha.

She looked, if possible, crazier than the last time they saw each other.

"Hello."

"Surrender, you're outnumbered!" Nora said.

"Nope, you are." She pointed to several weapons that had appeared from the walls. "Didn't see that, did you?"

"What? You didn't say anything about a weapons system!" Skipper said.

"I didn't know!" Nora said.

"Simon's not stupid." Sasha said. "He knew you'd come. By the way, we caught a little something that you might recognize." She stepped aside to reveal a penguin with completely red eyes.

"Jordan?" The others said.

"Didn't know about that either." Nora muttered.

"How did you capture her? What happened?" Skipper asked.

"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Sasha screamed. She cackled loudly. "Wait, weren't there five of you?"

…

Rico had taken the moment to disappear into the vent. He hurried until he saw a hole in the vents that looked as if it had been cut by a laser. He jumped down it to find himself in a control room.

"Rico, help!" Kowalski said, spotting his teammate.

Rico rushed out to see Simon engaged in a fight with Rocky and Private. Rico managed to pull Private away and pulled out explosives.

…

Sasha and the controlled Jordan attacked the others. Julien was smacked down by Sasha, but he pushed her off and hit her back.

Nat and Skipper were trying to hold Jordan down. They both lost track of Nora.

…

Rocky and Rico managed to push the fight away from the control room and towards the room where the others were.

Finally, they had pushed Simon into the room and surrounded the three.

"You're outnumbered." Rocky said.

"Give up now." Skipper said.

"Not until this fool GIVES ME THE CROWN!"

"You're crazy!" Julien said.

…

Private and Kowalski searched through files on the computer. Kowalski had been able to hack the system in five seconds and they were hurrying through everything.

"Why are there so many files on Julien? They can't possibly know that much about him!"

"Sasha does." Kowalski said. "Private…look at this. Jordan Johnson…OH GOLLY!"

Private jumped and raced over to Kowalski.

"She's being controlled with a machine…the same one that infected Skipper. There's a specific code that if inputted correctly…good god…"

"What?!" Private squeaked.

"They could turn her into a mindless killing machine and they could have her kill herself without a second thought."

"That's terrible! Can this be reversed?"

"Not if the poison is released…Manganese solution…excessive amounts can cause neuronal death." Kowalski said. He rifled through more papers. "I don't believe this…" he gasped.

"What is it?"

"Nora's not a real penguin…she's an experiment made of liquidized Manganese solution…and the blood of an innocent penguin was used to create her…"

Private gasped. "But what does she have to do with this situation?"

"I have a hunch…stay here." Kowalski got up determinedly and left the room.

Private was too shocked to respond immediately and just tried to gather the rest of the things for Rico to swallow.

He was wondering if he should leave the room or not when Nora slipped in. She didn't look at him as she set to work on the computer.

"Er…did Skipper send you in here?" Private asked.

"No." She said.

"But what's going on?"

Nora ignored him.

"I'm not certain that this is a good idea." Private said. "Hey, that's Jordan! Those files are top secret!"

"Shut up." Nora scowled.

"No! I'm not letting you betray us!" Private tackled her to the ground

…

Simon had managed to avoid being hit until Rico caught him by surprise. The psychotic penguin had pretended to attack when Rocky aimed a blow from the other side. As he turned his attention to Rocky, Rico pulled out a knife and slashed the meerkat. This had been Rocky's cue to strike him in the stomach. The two of them finally had an advantage over Simon as he was weakening.

Nat and Skipper were having slight luck with Jordan. Skipper did manage to get her to concentrate on him by using the old anger she had for him. They had been trying to reel emotions out of her, hoping she would break. They did manage to keep her away from the others. The down side to the situation was that it left Julien without backup.

Sasha was pounding the life out of Julien who was swinging wildly, hoping to hit her at some point.

"HELP!" Julien yelped. "What am I to be doing?"

"Pathetic." Sasha spat. "You can't defend yourself. Figures, though, your mother couldn't either."

Julien snapped. He let out a terrible growl as they lunged towards each other. He clawed her and gnashed his teeth. She let out cackles at managing to break the King. He let out surprising strength as he smacked her into the wall. He spun out of the way of her next attack and struck her in the middle of her back. He thought he heard a cracking noise.

Sasha shook as she looked at him with a lopsided, maniacal grin. She truly looked demented. Julien pinned her to the ground with one hand closed around her throat and his other clenched in a fist, ready to strike. The fist held a knife that Rico had cast in his direction. She coughed, her breaths had turned raspy.

"Go ahead…end it…" She hissed. "You don't…have..the guts…Juju…"

_Don't do it, baby__. _Julien blinked. He could have sworn he heard his mother's voice.

_You're better than this. _Josie? It couldn't have been.

_You're not a killer._

_You know you wouldn't be able to face her again._ He thought he heard the echo of Maya's happy squeal.

_**Dada!**_

_You need to be there for your daughter, baby, don't let my granddaughter's innocence be tainted_

_Don't leave her again_

_Be who you are because that's who we love_

_Revenge doesn't mean you have to kill her._

_Julien, please_

_Please_

Julien lowered his hand and stood up. He tried not to let tears come to his eyes. He put on a regal appearance as he stared down at Sasha.

"You're not worth it." He said coldly. He turned to see Kowalski entering the room, looking for something.

"Watch out! Kowalski said. He lunged past Julien and tackled Sasha back to the ground. He managed to wrench a bottle from her hand.

"Deadly acid." The penguin said, tossing the bottle to Julien.

Julien caught it and threw it at Simon. Rico and Rocky jumped out of the way as Simon caught it. The meerkat growled and crushed the glass in his paw. He was about to say something when he screamed. His hand was smoking and bubbling.

Julien's eyes widened.

"WHAT THE HECK IS THIS?!" Simon screamed.

Sasha grinned. "I give up." She cackled. A hidden weapon aimed at her and fired before anyone could do anything.

Julien looked away. The group froze.

Jordan let out a scream and clutched her head.

Simon tried to escape, but was hit into submission by Rico. Kowalski did a scan of the room and gasped loudly.

"She's trying to kill Jordan!" Kowalski yelled.

"What?!"

Jordan screamed again, writhing wildly.

Kowalski ran out of the room, followed by the others.

Private was nearly unconscious by the door. "S-she…help…" he wheezed.

They burst into the room to find Nora at the controls, typing something under Jordan's information.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Skipper yelled.

"It won't help!" Kowalski said. "You'll never be a real penguin. Let Jordan go!"

"What's going on?" Rocky asked.

"Eh, it feels hot in here." Julien said. He turned and screamed. Simon was holding a fiery torch that had begun to approach his hand.

"Get Private out of here!" Skipper yelled.

Julien and Nat grabbed the youngest penguin and hurried out of the room.

Rocky and Rico rolled their eyes as they prepared to fight Simon again.

"Nora thinks that by using Jordan's blood, she'll become a penguin for real. It doesn't work. If you release the chemical, she dies and so do you. You're a vat of toxic waste." Kowalski said. "You'll basically be needlessly killing."

Nora growled.

"Guys!" Rocky said.

They turned to find Simon pressing a button.

Several bangs and booms were heard as the meerkat was surrounded by flames. The building began to shake. Simon pulled out a knife and motioned for a fight.

Rico was stopped by Rocky.

"We have to get out of here!" She said. "Guys, let's go!"

Skipper smacked Nora away from the controls. She glared at him before turning to attack Simon.

Chunks of ceiling began to fall and the fire grew bigger. Kowalski looked back at the computers.

"They're destroyed!" He said. "Get out of here!"

"I won't" a voice whispered.

…

Nat and Julien watched as the building came down. A burst of flame and smoke came out. They saw several shapes emerge from the smoke.

Skipper, Rico, Kowalski, and Rocky panted as they cleared the smoke zone. Rico had Jordan on his back.

Rocky and the lemurs took Jordan and Private back to the plane.

Skipper, Rico, and Kowalski waited until the flames died down before examining the wreckage.

Rico found large splatters of purple liquid. He dug further until he found a feathery chest. It wasn't moving. He poked it, but nothing happened. He cleared it further and searched for signs of life. He found none.

Skipper nearly threw up as he found Simon. He would never say what he found, just that the meerkat was definitely dead.

The three penguins set the building on fire again, this time it burnt until the only evidence was a large black rectangle on the ground.

Three of the threats were officially eliminated. Yes, Nora was considered a threat even though she was working with them. This meant that the overwhelming threat was a little bit less anxiety causing, but it still meant the two largest threats were still out there.

They flew back to Rusty's shack in silence. He allowed Private and Jordan to lie on a couch and for the others to rest a while before leaving.

"Rusty, do you have a 16 Megawatt machine and some jumper cables?" Kowalski asked.

Rusty gave him an odd look. "I got a microwave."

"That'll do." The scientist said.

Kowalski hooked up the cables onto the microwave and a helmet placed on Jordan's head.

"What're ya doin', boy?" Rusty asked as Kowalski deposited a fork inside the microwave.

"I'll buy you a new microwave, I promise."

"Now wait a mi-"

CRACKLE! BOOM!

The microwave exploded as a surge of electricity hit Jordan. She shook like Skipper had.

"Not again." Rocky groaned.

Kowalski was able to make a quicker job of taking the device out of Jordan's brain. She groaned, but remained unconscious.

Private woke up an hour later and was simply told that Nora had died along with Simon and Sasha. The details didn't need to be known to the youngest penguin.

Jordan woke up soon after Private did and was told what happened. She told them that she hadn't had contact with Sarah or anyone in a long time and it was like they all disappeared.

Rusty had spent the entire time berating Kowalski about destroying his microwave. He only stopped when Jordan asked if she could stay for a while since she had nowhere to go. Rusty grumbled, but agreed as long as she didn't destroy anything.

As the penguins and lemurs were preparing to leave, Jordan took Skipper aside.

"Why did you save me?" She asked.

"Because it would be an insult to your brother's memory to let you die." Skipper responded.

"You're just something, aren't you?"

"I don't know." Skipper said. He sighed. "I'm sorry for what happened between us."

"I forgive you." Jordan said. "Just keep your girl happy."

Skipper scratched his head. "Uh, about that…"

"What? You did NOT break up with her did you?" Jordan looked shocked and somewhat offended. "Why?!"

Skipper explained what happened with the chip and the aftermath of the fight.

Jordan shook her head. "You are so stupid."

"For wanting to protect her?"

"For pushing her away!"

"What?"

Jordan groaned. "She's special to you, isn't she?"

Something stirred in Skipper's memory. _So, I hear you got yourself a girlfriend? _Rocky had told their mother about Marlene. _*cough*kiss her*cough* _Kowalski pushed the two to kiss before the battle had begun. _This Marlene means a lot to you, doesn't she? _That counselor back in South America had heard him talk about her._ I knew it, you couldn't resist each other. _Josie hadn't been subtle about the subject. _What about Marlene? You have de love for her._ Even Julien had seen it. Marlene and Skipper…they shared a Christmas kiss…they told each other their feelings, it seemed to be going well. It really was going well…so what was the problem? Skipper sighed as he found his answer.

"But I don't want her to be in danger…"

"Then keep her close."

Skipper looked confused.

"Skipper, you can't let her go." Jordan said. "I don't know who Tyson is, but you seem to share love for him."

"He's a baby penguin who was orphaned and he calls me his father and Marlene his mother." Skipper said. "I guess we both love him."

"If you let her go, you let him go. If you let him go, you're pushing them away which he will eventually resent you for. Keeping them close means that you have something to fight for. Your family." Jordan stood up and headed for the house. "Think about that."

Skipper was snapped out of his thoughts by Kowalski saying they had to go.

…

They heard a wolf howl as the plane doors closed. This combined with the weather, and Julien's presence, made him remember something he had said to Josie. It had been a long time ago, right after Nora had betrayed them. Skipper had explained Mort's foot obsession and asked if he had given details of the trip to Josie.

_"Of course not, I was giving birth!" Josie had said._

_"I know, I've been through the same thing." He responded._

_"What?!" Josie had looked slightly skeptical._

_"Yup, one of my missions before Kowalski officially joined the team. It was me, Manfredi, Jordan, a gray wolf and three painful hours in the cold outreaches of Norway."_

_"I do not want to know." Josie said._

_"Suit yourself; you're missing a great story."_

And she really did miss a great story. He had witnessed only a flipper full of births including Maya's. He wasn't sure whether to count that mission as seeing one or six births. He decided to break the silence by telling the others of that mission. It hadn't been a strictly classified one so it was alright for Nat and Julien to know.

What none of them knew was that Marlene was also reminiscing about the past to Charlie. She was remembering a time where Skipper kept her under close watch because he thought she was a spy. He had made quite an entrance and a very messy first impression.

**A/N: Skipper's mission was mentioned in chapter 18 very briefly. It was a mission before Kowalski and Rico joined the team. I'll be going into Marlene's past a little bit next chapter as well as telling you what happened in Norway.**

**Also, in case anyone wanted to know, that animal from chapter 29 who said 'I wasn't finished eating' before the battle begun…didn't make it. That animal was one of the first to lay down their life on the front lines. Just thought I'd put that out there.**

**They haven't heard directly from Sarah since the funeral and they haven't had contact since she and Bianca were able to help keep the Zoo open. The village was planned to have been moved from Brazil back to Antarctica. Tammy and Charlie wandered from both groups and now they don't know where to go next…we'll just have to see what happens…**


	58. Tales of travel

**A/N: Here we are. You get Marlene and Skipper, double trouble flashbacks, the most ama- what? Oh fine, here's the story. A lot of time switching so…hope you can keep up!**

**Four years previously…**

"_Bye Marlene!"_

"_Have a good time!"_

"_Stay safe!"_

"_Keep in touch!"_

_Marlene smiled. "I will, thanks guys!" She waved._

"_Marlene, we'll miss you sweetie." Her mother said. "I can't believe my baby's going all the way to New York!"_

"_I'll be fine, Mom." Marlene said. "I already know I'm going to greet the neighbors with a present…maybe I'll bake them cookies or cupcakes."_

"_Just be careful." Her dad said. "Don't let them walk all over you. If anyone is trying to boss you around, don't let them. Stand up for yourself and be exactly who you are, alright?"_

"_I know, Dad." Marlene said. "You've told me that sixteen times already!"_

"_I know, but I just want to make sure you're going to be okay."_

"_Oh Daddy, I'll be perfectly fine." Marlene smiled. "Don't worry about me, what could possibly happen? Don't answer that." She added as her dad opened his mouth._

_He closed it and sighed. "Good luck, Marlene."_

"_We love you! Visit soon, okay?" Her mother said._

"_At least call every so often so we know you're okay." Her dad said._

"_Stop worrying, I'll figure out how to message you as soon as I get there. I'll tell you all about it."_

_Her parents waved as she was taken out of the zoo._

_The plane ride was uneventful. The zookeeper that was traveling with her was allowed to keep her in the seat next to him and fed her twice on the ride. She was taken to the doctor for a checkup._

_She saw a redheaded lady talking to the doctor. The doctor checked her over and deemed her healthy enough and the redhead picked her up. Marlene noticed that the redhead was not too gentle with picking her up or placing her in the habitat._

"_There you go." The lady said. "Here's your new home." She left unceremoniously._

_Marlene shrugged. She looked around. It was pretty late in the day, so she thought the zoo might have just been closed. She entered the cave to see it completely empty. She smiled happily; this meant she could decorate it as she pleased. There was a small device that blended in with the surroundings. It looked like an oven left by the previous resident. A few hidden cupboards showed up in her search of the place and she saw ingredients and food. _

_She smiled, silently thanking the previous resident, and began to bake. She made so many cupcakes; she didn't know how she was going to hold them all. She managed to carry them all on a rock that had been carved into a large platter. _

_Jumping up on the ledge, she managed to get out of the habitat without spilling anything. She heard music and decided to head over there first._

_Three lemurs were dancing. The tallest stopped and kicked the smallest before complaining to the short grey one._

"_Hello!" Marlene said._

_The three lemurs perked up and looked at the otter._

"_Hi, I'm Marlene. I'm new here and I decided to bring cupcakes!"_

"_Maurice, why did you not tell me about a new animal?" The tallest complained._

"_I didn't know." The lemur named Maurice said._

"_Hello, otter lady!" The tall one said. "I am your king and you shall worship me."_

"_I worship the feet!" The smallest said._

"_Not the feet, Mort!" The tallest kicked Mort who flew out of the habitat._

"_King Julien, please stop kicking him." Maurice sighed._

"_You do not tell the king what to do!"_

_Marlene smiled nervously and just left three cupcakes on the wall for them._

"_Oh great, you made her go away!" King Julien complained. "Good going, Maurice!"_

_Marlene shook her head as she made her way around the zoo. Most of the animals were friendly and accepted the cupcakes. The kangaroo didn't seem to care and the koala was still asleep. She had five cupcakes left._

_She had been warned that the penguins were sort of odd, but she didn't want to listen to rumor. She grinned and knocked on their door._

_After a few minutes of no response, she decided to open it. It was unlocked so she thought she might be welcomed._

_BOOM!_

_She nearly dropped the cupcakes, coughing as a haze of smoke surrounded her. The platter was knocked out of her hands and the cupcakes splattered on her. She felt a small tap and everything went dark._

_The next thing she knew, she was tied up with a lamp glaring in her eyes._

"_State your business." A gruff male voice said._

"_Skipper, she looks nice." Another voice said. He sounded younger and British._

"_Looks can be deceiving." The gruff voice said._

"_She appears to be covered in cake." Another voice said._

"_Why did you do that?" Marlene asked. "What's going on?"_

"_You intruded upon our habitat. We would like to know your motives, spy." Skipper said._

"_I'm not a spy! I just wanted to say hi to my neighbors!"_

"_Skipper, I think she's the new arrival." The third male said._

"_Yeah, and she came here for a reason." Skipper said. "She's trying to steal our secrets."_

"_Or maybe she was really trying to be a friendly neighbor." The British one said._

"_Rico, slap him."_

_A slapping noise was heard._

"_But-"_

"_Private, we can't assume that everything is dandy." Skipper said. _

"_Sorry, sir." Private said._

_Marlene squinted; she could make out four shapes in the shadows._

"_Kowalski, analysis." Skipper said._

"_It appears that she does not have any spy gear on her, though we may have to probe-"_

"_WHOA!" Marlene said. "NO WAY! Just let me out of here! LET ME OUT! HELP! HELP ME!"_

"_Rico!"_

_A piece of tape was slapped across her mouth._

"_Skipper!" Private said. "I don't think you had to do that."_

"_She was calling for backup!"_

"_Or she's a scared civilian who was trying to get out of here." Private said._

"_Yeah, that was another part of my analysis." Kowalski said. "She might be telling the truth."_

"_Rico, remove the tape." Skipper said._

_The tape was ripped off._

"_OW!" Marlene yelped. "Hey, I gave everyone else cupcakes." She said before Skipper could say anything. "If I was trying to kill you, then I might as well have killed the rest of the zoo. Go see for yourself that I gave everyone cupcakes."_

"_Private, follow me."_

_Footsteps left the room._

"_Uh, you're not going to probe me, are you?" Marlene asked._

"_Negative." Kowalski said. _

"_Could you lower the light?"_

_The light was lowered to shine on the desk._

"_Thank you." Marlene said._

"_For a spy, you're the politest I've ever met." Kowalski said._

"_Uh…thanks? I'm not a spy. If you didn't want visitors, you should have locked the door or put a sign up."_

"_That's actually a good idea."_

"_Could you untie me? Or at least loosen the ropes?"_

"_Sorry, I can't." Kowalski said. "That would be a violation of the Skipper's orders."_

"_Fine." Marlene huffed. "Maybe I should just go home." She sniffled._

"_Why? You haven't been here a day." Kowalski said._

"_Well, if you're going to hate me, then what's the point of being where I'm not wanted?"_

"_We don't hate you; we just want to make sure you're not a spy."_

"_Geez."_

"_Sorry."_

"_Doesn't help."_

_She heard footsteps entering. Before she could ask anything, she was knocked out again._

_She woke up back in her own habitat. Four penguins surrounded her._

"_What happened?" She rubbed her fur, feeling clean._

"_We brought you back here and cleaned you up a little." One of the penguins said. "I'm Private."_

"_I'm Kowalski." The tallest one said. "This is Rico." He gestured to a penguin with a Mohawk and scar._

"_And I'm Skipper." The last one said. "We'll be keeping watch on you." He said._

"_What does that mean?"_

"_We're letting you off for now, but we need to watch you just in case." Kowalski explained._

"_Oh joy." Marlene said sarcastically._

"_I guess we'll see you around." Skipper said._

"_Sorry about the cupcakes." Private said._

_They left in a puff of smoke before Marlene could respond._

…

_Over the next couple of days, she noticed the penguins looking at her; the tallest would make a note or two. She gave them an odd look, but only the smallest would give an apologetic look back. Then one day, she didn't see them. After two days, she became concerned._

_She asked around, but the other animals either didn't know or didn't care. She managed to find the entrance again…and it was obvious that Kowalski did not take her advice to lock the door._

_Opening it, she was assaulted by a horrifying smell. She heard scuffling and muffled voices._

"_Guys?" She said._

"_Who's there?" Kowalski's semi muffled voice asked._

"_Marlene."_

_Kowalski found the otter and immediately pulled a helmet over her head. She could breathe easier now._

"_You should have knocked."_

"_What happened to you?" She looked over Kowalski. Several patches of pinkish skin were visible. He had several dark spots of soot on his body and his eyes were bloodshot._

_Kowalski didn't answer. _

_She followed him into the main room. A green gas was being sucked up by a vacuum. Rico stood over an object in a clear box. It was a shoe._

"_What happened?"_

"_I was experimenting with gas and I set the shoe on fire." Kowalski said._

"_Whose is that?"_

"_It belonged to Alice." Skipper said. "Look behind you."_

_Marlene turned to see Private in a quarantine box, unconscious._

"_Unfortunately he inhaled it before we could respond." Skipper said. "Now you know why you shouldn't burst in here, dollface."_

_Marlene gave him a questioning look. "Two questions. Why did you just call me that? And how did you get Alice's shoe?"_

"_We know where she lives." Kowalski said. "We made it our mission to get to know our zookeepers…unfortunately we get to know too much…" he shuddered at an unspoken memory._

"_Is this what you do every day?" Marlene asked._

"_Not really. What we really do is classified, but the unclassified is too." Skipper responded. "You should probably go before you end up like Private."_

"_Is he going to be okay?"_

"_Yeah, we've been working around the clock to get rid of this. He's going to be hungry when he wakes up."_

"_He's been out this whole time?"_

"_Affirmative." Skipper said. "Well, I think you should get going. Oh, don't tell the other zoo animals about this, especially the lemurs."_

_Marlene caught Rico's lopsided grin. "Uh, alright, I promise I won't tell."_

"_It's not classified, just embarrassing." Skipper said._

"_Alright, see you later." She left and returned to her own habitat._

_After that, the penguins started warming up to her a little bit. She realized that there hadn't been an answer to her first question, but she decided that she didn't need to know. It was nice to have a nickname; to her it meant having friends._

…

**Present**

"Wow, they sound so cool!" Charlie said. "They're my heroes."

"You picked really great ones." Marlene said with a smile. "I think I can honestly say they're my best friends, even if they won't admit it." She wondered if she should have told Charlie the embarrassing thing, but Skipper had said not to tell a _zoo_ animal and Charlie was technically not a member of the zoo.

"I hope everything works out." Charlie said. "I should get back to recon."

Marlene nodded. She looked up to see a plane pass by.

"Skipper…"

…

**Meanwhile…**

"I had a mission right before Kowalski was officially part of the team…" Skipper was explaining. "It was probably a couple months after he joined the organization. Johnson had been out sick so they put Jordan on my team. It was me, Manfredi, Jordan, a grey wolf…"

…

**Norway, twelve years ago…**

"_Do you understand your mission?" Commander Johnny Bone asked. He faced three young penguin agents._

"_Yes, sir!" Skipper and Jordan responded._

"_Why are we on this mission?" Manfredi asked._

"_A member of the wolf pack has separated during hunting." Johnny said. "This pack is a mutual acquaintance of ours. You three are the only ones available for this sort of mission."_

"_I'll explain on the way." Jordan sighed. She pulled Manfredi along._

"_Sir, where's Rocky?" Skipper asked._

"_I don't know, Skipper." Johnny answered. "I'm sorry, but her mission wasn't one that could be shared publicly. Possibly, she'll tell you one day, but for now you have to accept my explanation."_

"_Alright." Skipper sighed._

_He joined his teammates at a helicopter._

"_Wow, Norway." Byron Kent said. "I've never been there before."_

"_You're our pilot?" Manfredi whined._

"_Yeperdoodle!" Byron answered with a wide grin. "Let's go!"_

…

_They spent hours listening to Byron go on about a mission where he nearly lost his left flipper, beak, and half a lung. Jordan fell asleep on Skipper while Manfredi covered his ear holes angrily._

_Skipper politely pretended to listen._

_Once they arrived, Byron was to stay with the pack in case he needed to call for reinforcements._

_The team headed to the leader of the pack. The leader explained that one of their hunters had disappeared and they were very worried about her as she was very pregnant. _

"_We'll find her and bring her back." Skipper said. "You can count on us."_

…

_The penguins spent half an hour searching a blank area of very cold land. There were very few trees and a thin layer of icy slush under their webbed feet._

_Manfredi complained about having to carry the backpack. Jordan said she was already carrying the medical supplies and Skipper had a bag of food._

"_Are we there yet?" Manfredi asked._

"_No, stop asking!" Jordan yelled._

_Skipper stopped, he saw a set of footprints. He sniffed it and drew the shape in a journal._

"_I'm pretty sure that's a wolf." Skipper said. "These are fresh."_

"_AWOOOOO!"_

_The penguins jumped and looked around._

"_W-what was that?" Manfredi squeaked._

"_Didn't you just hear me? I said I'm pretty sure it's a wolf." Skipper said._

"_It came from there!" Jordan said. She led them through a path that was hardly visible behind the brush._

_There were several spots where it looked as if a fight had taken place. Chunks of tree were missing and branches and leaves had been strewn across the path. They saw a dried patch of blood._

_A whimpering sound was heard before a tiny voice spoke._

"_Hallo?" It sounded like a child._

"_Hello? Who's there?" Jordan asked._

"_J-Jeg forstar deg ikke…" The voice responded._

"_He doesn't understand us." Skipper said. "Vi vil ikke skade deg, vi kom pa jakt etter noen."_

_A small moose peeked out at them, looking completely scared._

"_Du vil ikke skade?" The moose asked._

_Skipper shook his head. "No."_

"_Jeg sag en bjorn og en ulv slass."_

"_Hvor er ulven?" Skipper asked._

_The moose jerked his head down the path._

"_Det er en klippe."_

_Skipper nodded. "Takk."_

_The moose nodded and retreated._

"_What was that?" Manfredi asked._

"_Norwegian." Skipper answered. "During study time, Zander made us learn different languages. I picked up Norwegian, different dialects of Spanish, German, Polish, and a little Japanese. Kowalski said he was going to try to learn fifty different languages."_

"_That rookie? He'll never make it." Manfredi scoffed._

"_What did he say?" Jordan asked._

"_That little rookie sa-"_

"_Not the new recruit, the moose." Jordan interrupted._

"_He said that a bear and a wolf were fighting and that there's a cliff nearby." Skipper said._

_The penguins hurried to the cliff's edge. They looked down to see a whimpering wolf on the ledge. She was groaning and trying to lift her head to lick her injured paw._

"_Hei, vi er her for a hjelpe deg!" Skipper said._

_The wolf groaned and looked up towards the penguins. The movement seemed too much for her and she fainted._

_Jordan and Skipper tied a rope to the nearest tree while Manfredi kept them updated on the wolf. She woke up a few times, but was unresponsive._

_Skipper was lowered down with the medical bag. He wrapped her leg up and tried to lift her, but her deadweight was too much. He had to wake her up. _

_She tried to help Skipper by using her own weight, but suddenly started breathing heavily._

"_Er du ok?" Skipper asked, they were halfway up the mountain._

"_Babyer…de kommer…" she grunted._

_Skipper's eyes widened. "Special delivery!" He shouted to his teammates. "Get us up on the double!"_

_Manfredi and Jordan grunted as they pulled. Finally, their leader pulled the wolf over onto the edge. The two penguins pulled the wolf and the leader further inland._

_Jordan quickly set up a tent and brought the wolf into it._

"_Er du ok?" Jordan asked, with a terrible accent._

_The wolf nodded slightly._

"_Do you speak English?"_

"_Yes…" The wolf groaned._

_Jordan wet a towel and put it on the wolf's head. She got several blankets ready._

"_How many babies?"_

"_I don't know…"_

_Skipper and Manfredi ran around, trying to help. Jordan had them get several things prepared for the babies to arrive. The wolf had gone into labor, but an hour passed without a single baby._

_They had to change her bandages, which caused her to cringe and howl in pain. She accidentally lashed out and scratched Manfredi._

_She was still trying to push and finally twenty minutes later, a small cub came out. Manfredi toppled over in dead faint._

_Skipper shook his head and took him out. He then cleaned the cub as another baby came out. He cleaned that one as well. _

_Two more cubs came out within the hour, less painful this time, but still an effort. The fifth cub came out a minute into the third hour. The last one did not want to come out._

_The wolf pushed and groaned, trying not to scream. Jordan massaged the stomach, trying to coax the baby out. Skipper waited with the other five who wanted their mother but the mother was in too much pain to deal with the other five. Manfredi had been banned from entering the tent because he fainted three times in the past five minutes._

_Fifty minutes passed and the final cub was nowhere to be seen. The other five were complaining in high pitched whimpers. Jordan tried to see what was wrong, but she couldn't figure it out. _

_It was five minutes to the end of the third hour when the cub finally gave up. He came out looking grumpy._

_Skipper cleaned the baby and finally let the other cubs approach their mother. The sixth cub tried to go back in his mother, but found that it didn't work. He finally gave up and joined his siblings._

"_Alright, you can come back in Manfredi." Skipper sighed._

_Jordan groaned and plopped down on her back. Skipper sat next to her as Manfredi entered._

_He told them he called Byron to bring them back to the wolf pack. _

…

_The cubs and their mother were safely in their den when the leader approached the penguins._

"_Thank you." He said gratefully. "A few of my pack have expressed the desire to join your organization."_

"_We'd be happy if they did." Jordan said. "We're always looking for new recruits. Actually, a wolf would be pretty cool to have."_

"_Very, we need anyone we can find." Skipper said._

"_Well, good luck to you." The wolf said._

"_Thank you and good luck to you as well." Manfredi said. _

…

**Present**

"And that was a very successful mission." Skipper concluded.

"Do you really know all those languages?" Nat asked.

"Yep. After I told Kowalski, he managed to outdo me by learning more languages." He said.

Kowalski grinned. "I've forgotten some of what I've learned." He admitted.

Everyone except for Kowalski and Skipper fell asleep as they approached New York. Skipper sighed and looked out the window into the darkness.

Kowalski looked over at his leader and smiled.

"Drive the plane, Kowalski." Skipper said.

"What're you thinking about?" Kowalski asked.

"Too many things."

"What is one of those things?"

"Marlene…"

**A/N: I used Google translate for the conversations in Norwegian.  
><strong>

**Here is the rough translation: **

**_(moose) J-Jeg forstar deg ikke: I do not understand you_  
><strong>

**__(skipper) Vi vil ikke skade deg, vi kom pa jakt etter noen: We will not harm you, we came looking for someone  
><em>_**

**_(moose) Du vil ikke skade?: You will not hurt?_**

**_(moose) Jeg sag en bjorn og en ulv slass: I saw a bear and a wolf fight_**

**_(Skipper) Hvor er ulven?: Where's the wolf?_**

**_(moose) Det er en klippe: There is a cliff_**

**_(Skipper) Takk: Thanks_**

**_..._**

**_(Skipper) Hei, vi er her for a hjelpe deg! : Hey, we're here to help you!_**

**_(Skipper) Er du ok?: Are you ok?_**

**_(wolf) Babyer...de kommer...: Babies...they come_**

**Fun fact- Izzy the otter was invented in 2002-2003. My friend and I would play a game where we had a pet otter and she named him Izzy. I never imagined I'd need him again until this story idea popped up.**


	59. What's coming will come

They came back late into the night. Kowalski hadn't wanted to push the plane past the limits, especially one whose replacement engine came from 'Ol' Deathtrap'. They trusted Rusty, but it was better to be safe than sorry. The zoo was dark by the time they had actually landed in the hangar.

None of them felt particularly tired. They were all on alert. So, to pass the time, they decided to keep working on their transportation machines.

Wearing protective goggles, Rikki was allowed to help Rico and Rocky rebuild the submarine. Kowalski fixed the plane up some more with a little help from Nat. Skipper and Private worked on building a bigger plane. Even Julien was helping out with the submarine, having been promised that he could name it and put a smoothie machine inside.

It didn't take Kowalski long to fix the errors. He was done within two hours. He and Nat helped out with the plane.

Julien fell asleep before morning and was brought to bed by Rico. Private fell asleep around dawn, followed by Nat and Rikki.

Hours later, Rocky gave in to tiredness and went to bed while Private rejoined them saying that his head was still hurting. Rico gave him medicine and the four of them kept working.

Not many words were exchanged between the boys, but they all felt good about working on something together. They were able to communicate mainly through eye contact. Rico had been looking for a wrench and Private had somehow known to pick it up for him.

Kowalski was pretty sure that he had yawned earlier, but he honestly didn't remember. He looked around at the other three. They had basically become his adopted brothers years ago. With the addition of Private, it felt like they were complete.

Even with the pretty recent discovery of being half-brothers, it didn't really change their relationships. They were all, in a sense, brothers. Skipper was more of a father figure to the young Private, but with a brotherly attitude thrown in to the mix. Rico had nearly forgotten what it was like to be a brother until he was rescued. That didn't mean he forgot Rikki, he had just put her in his subconscious until Rocky's appearance jarred his memory. Yes, Rico does have a conscience, but it takes his brothers to remind him that he still has one.

They had almost forgotten what it was like to work together. Everything had felt off and just awkward for the past year, they wondered when they were truly a team. Perhaps the major battle had done it. They had all been separated. Private had witnessed Johnson's death; Kowalski had been bitten or scratched by something; Rico had been half burned, half frozen; and Skipper had endured torture while watching his mentor suffering. They felt as if they had been apart too long, and the recent mission brought up memories of being a team. Things were slowly piecing back together.

…

Rocky came back down around three in the afternoon to find the boys asleep and clumped together in awkward positions. She ran to get a camera and was able to snap a picture just as Rico was waking up. He gave her a skeptical look, but shrugged it off.

The rest of the day was spent on the plane with Rikki and Rocky helping again. Tammy was banned from the HQ during the daytime as the last time she was there; she broke several things including the toaster and a dynamite stick. No one was quite sure how she managed to burn a stick of dynamite, yet not make it explode.

The boys returned to their bunks that night.

…

The next morning, they began their day with a routine training schedule with Charlie and Rocky joining along. Rikki, Mikayla, and Tammy were over at the otter habitat.

Later in the afternoon, Skipper sent Rocky and Charlie on recon. Kowalski went down to work on the machines with Rico and Private. Skipper had seen Marlene look over at him several times. She took the chance to come over and talk to Skipper.

"Hey." She said.

"Hi, Marlene." Skipper said. "Nice day."

She nodded. "Where are we?"

Skipper looked momentarily confused and was about to answer 'New York' when it made sense to him.

"I'm not sure…" Skipper sighed. "We've got a little penguin to think about too and I don't want to lose him like I lost Private once. I swore to myself I'd never lose Private again nor would I lose any other penguin to come under my wing. He can still consider us his parents, but…"

"We're not ready to be a couple." Marlene finished. She smiled sadly. "I don't want to end up like Julien and Josie either."

"So, we're not saying that there's nothing between us." Skipper said. "We're just saying that we're taking a break and analyzing our positions."

"Agreed." Marlene said. "We're still friends though, right?"

"You bet, sister!" Skipper said with a grin. "You were always my best friend and you still will be, no matter what happens."

Marlene smiled. "Thanks, Skipper."

The two of them hugged.

Marlene blushed when they broke away. "Your feathers are filled with static." She said.

"Right, I need a shower." He said.

"You're stinky."

Skipper stuck out his tongue. Marlene rolled her eyes.

…

Over the next few days, Skipper tried to get into contact with the Antarctic Force again. Surely someone would have noticed two young agents disappearing as well as a prisoner. Unless Buck was cleared to take Nora as a spy, that left the Force with Tammy and Charlie's disappearances from the village.

They were sure that the village in Brazil had moved, but Charlie tried to find the one in Antarctica. There had been no word from any of the penguin parents either which made them nervous. Skipper had definitely remembered giving his mother a way to communicate if anything were to go wrong. Perhaps the connection wasn't strong enough.

He pulled out an old machine labeled 'Ground Control' which was able to communicate to any device with its code inputted.

He put in the code of the radio he had given his mother.

"Ground Control to all devices, respond please. This is team Skippy, please respond, over." Skipper said, speaking into a microphone attached to the machine.

"Hello?" Private's voice came. "Er, radio from Rico's gut responding, over."

"Good to know that thing still works." Kowalski said, coming down from up top. The three of them had been practicing, but decided to see what the leader was up to.

"What's that?" Private asked, following Rico and Kowalski to the table where the device sat.

"Gentlemen, this is Ground Control." Skipper said with a grin. "I haven't used this baby in years."

The machine made a static noise before a voice came out. "Skipper?" It was Mikayla.

"Just testing something out, over." Skipper said.

He shut of the frequency to those two radios before setting the code to a specific one.

"Ground Control to Safe One, do you read? This is Ground Control Skip, Safe One, please respond, over."

The low hum of static did nothing to calm their anxiety. No one was responding.

"Ground Control Skip to Safe One, parental units please respond, over."

Still no response came. Kowalski got onto his computer and tried to find the Safe One radio by the code.

"Please let me know you're still out there." Skipper said.

"Oh, I am."

Private gasped. "Blowhole!"

Skipper punched in some numbers and the base beeped.

"Warning: Safe One radio has been destroyed." The base said.

"We know." Kowalski said. "I found the coordinates, do you want us to do anything?"

Skipper shook his head. "I'm willing to bet he got that off Nora. She did seem shifty even as a spy on our side. She was always Blowhole's whether she wanted to be or not."

"Now what? We don't have Safe One anymore, what became of our parents?" Private asked.

"Now we wait to see what unfolds." Kowalski said. "We know where his coordinates are and we know there are only two leaders left. Blowhole will give up before the end of this war. He'll go back to his failed series of revenges. But we need to be rid of Koru. That penguin is corrupting and empowering Blowhole. Not even the mad dolphin is that evil."

"How do we tell Sarah about this?" Private asked.

"We don't." Skipper said.

Rico nodded. "Train." He said.

"Rico's right, all we can do is train for whatever comes next." Skipper said. "I believe Doris will be useful."

Kowalski looked startled. "Doris? Why?"

"She's his brother. She said herself that he revealed he was evil and he didn't hurt her, he made a promise that he'd never harm her." Skipper said. "So far, he's kept his promise. He may be evil and mad, but he's not a killer. He's being driven into deeper madness by a psychotic penguin. He hates killing, it's too messy for him. He'd rather shoot everything into space or the depths of the ocean so he doesn't have to see death."

"Shall we let her know?" Private asked.

Skipper nodded.

"Permission to take that mission?" Kowalski asked.

"Granted, Kowalski." Skipper said.

"Thank you, sir." Kowalski grinned and zipped out of the HQ.

He went to the underwater aquarium portion of the zoo. Several fish hid when he came in.

"I eat fish that are already dead." Kowalski said. "You know I won't eat you."

The fish didn't come out.

Kowalski chuckled and walked around, looking for the dolphin tank. He paused at a new tank. He didn't remember a new resident before. He squinted at the sign, trying to read it. He'd spent some of the time trying to teach himself how to read.

"E-Erv…no wait, uh…Evan?"

"Yes?" A tired voice asked.

Kowalski jumped, not having expected an answer. He looked to see something sliding around. He realized it was a tentacle. A yawning noise sounded as a head poked out.

"When did we get a squid?" Kowalski asked.

"I've been here since November." Evan said. "No one's visited me yet."

"My apologies, Evan." Kowalski said. "The land animals have been extremely busy. Please do forgive us, we would ordinarily have come ourselves to visit."

"It's fine, my old zoo got new squids and I'm too old for them."

Kowalski felt an odd sense of déjà vu at that comment. Evan went back to sleep when Kowalski didn't reply. The penguin walked towards the dolphin tank when it hit him. He remembered an old lemur saying something like that back on Madagascar. He wondered if that lemur was aware of Sasha leaving Madagascar. He shrugged it off, perhaps it was best that the lemur never finds out what became of her granddaughter. If he ever went back to Madagascar, and he hoped not, then he would tell her that Sasha drowned or something. The truth was too harsh for anyone who couldn't handle it, which is why Private would never be told exactly what the others saw.

Being lost in thought, Kowalski actually did crash into the tank and stumbled backwards. He regained balance and looked around. Doris wasn't anywhere in sight. He climbed up the side and dove into the tank, swimming around in search of her.

Entering the underwater cave, he found a pocket of air to breathe in. He tried to remember exactly where to go when he was pulled under.

He hadn't been able to get enough air and was trying to get out. He kicked at whatever had ahold of him. It let go and he went propelling out of the water and smacking against a wall. He slid to the ground with a wet squeaking noise and shook his wet feathers. He smoothed down the ruffled parts and glared up at the tank to see Doris smiling at him.

He blushed and cleared his throat.

"Uh, hi…" Kowalski said. "What brings you here?"

Doris giggled. "This is my habitat, Kowalski. What brings you here?"

"Uh…I-uh…well, I-I don't know…"

"Didn't Skipper say you couldn't talk to me?"

"That was a long time ago." Kowalski said. "He figured that you weren't spying on us and as long as Blowhole didn't use you to do anything then it was okay for us to be friends."

"He won't hurt me." Doris said. "And he knows I won't do anything he says if it's bad. He's my brother even if I don't like the evil part, we grew up protecting each other. He kept his promise all this time that he wouldn't hurt me and he wouldn't bring this near me."

"But he did." Kowalski said. "That day the robot killed Josie, it was close to you. It could have gotten anyone in this zoo. He recruited Simon and let him go loose without considering that maybe the meerkat actually survived and would go back for revenge. He joined forces with an evil penguin and is now bringing inevitable chaos to us."

"That's the most you've ever said to me in one turn." Doris said. "I don't want a part in this battle. If you need me to smack a little sense into my brother, I will. But I don't want any part in the fighting and I don't want you getting killed out there. Don't kill my brother."

Kowalski shook his head. "Skipper says Blowhole can be imprisoned if we separate the two- wait…did you just say you don't want me killed?"

"Well, I meant any of you guys…or your friends…" Doris said lamely. "You know what I mean."

"I think I do." Kowalski said.

He walked out, slightly happier than when he had entered.

…

Kowalski relayed this information to Skipper and decided to go to the hangar where the others were fixing the transportation equipment.

Kowalski was fixing the interior of the submarine when Charlie dropped in to help. They were entertained by Rico making faces from the outside. This didn't last long as Skipper scolded the pyrotechnic for getting saliva all over the window. Rico visibly groaned and cleaned it up.

"Kowalski, sir, may I ask a question?" Charlie asked.

"You have already asked one, I suppose you could ask another." Kowalski responded. He bolted down Skipper's chair.

"Before I came to Central Park, Byron had told us about ranking. I don't think I asked before, but what are your ranks?"

Kowalski paused and pondered this. "By now, Skipper could be considered a high ranked commander, possibly a captain; and I his lieutenant commander, second in command. Rico would be around the same rank or slightly lower than me and I don't really know where Private is." He said. He looked over at Charlie. "You would be considered the rank of a private as well. Tammy is not quite in the same rank as you yet, she's still a recruit in training."

"Is there still an Antarctic Force?" Charlie asked.

Kowalski sighed. He ran his flipper across the floor. "I'm not sure of that myself." He said. "We're a broken group. I bet you encountered many of the older agents and families in the village. They'll tell you that they remember a time of peace when Koru seemed to fall off the face of the earth. I had to listen to Admiral Kent's speech so many times, I could have told it to you by heart. He basically said that Koru would return and we should be ready when he does, but we should also take care of our surroundings because there are always new enemies popping up no matter how many you keep at bay or take down. "

"But I thought the Admiral had died when his daughter was really young."

"He had it written down in a way that only animals could understand and every assembly had someone reading the speech. Eventually, they had Sarah record her grandfather's speech."

"How come I didn't hear it?"

"Who was your main training officer?" Kowalski asked.

"Zander…" Charlie groaned.

"That explains it, he never took us to the assemblies. He considered it a waste of time." Kowalski explained. "I feel that those under his command were never as mentally prepared as others. When you went to an assembly, you learned things that would help in the long run. We got transferred to Johnny Bone's tutelage when Rico came. Then when Private came, the three of us did our best to make sure the little guy never crossed paths with Zander."

"Can I be part of your team?"

"You are now." Kowalski said. "I don't know exactly where to go now so we just wait. Wait for them to show up again."

…

Skipper decided to have his team do recon together that night. The four of them sat on the clock tower, looking around the zoo.

"Take a look boys, this is home." The leader said. "Perhaps Antarctica was once our home, and it still will be…but this is where we ultimately belong. That being said, I wouldn't mind getting out every now and then."

"So many things have changed." The tallest commented. "We've gained and lost a lot."

"More kaboom!" The pyrotechnic added happily. "Family." He smiled, this time in a non-maniacal way.

"I have to ask this…" The youngest said. The other three looked at him. "Are we ready, brothers? Are we prepared to go into battle again, knowing that it could mean life or death? Are we ready to possibly leave all of our family and friends? How do you prepare for something like this?"

"You hope you never have to." Skipper responded. "And technically, we wouldn't be alone if we were killed in battle. Our team is like a little family right here. I've been told you don't need to be blood related to have a family. Take a look at Maya and Tyson, neither the biological child of their caretakers, yet loved all the same."

"And even if it was just one of us, there would be others waiting on the other side. Private's father, Skipper's brothers and father, Rico's mother, they're all there." Kowalski said.

"You?" Rico asked.

Kowalski shrugged.

"You've got Emma." Skipper said. "And my dad doesn't give up, even in the afterlife. I hate waiting as much as the next person. I want this battle to be over, but I guess good things come to those who wait."

The others nodded, looking around at the zoo again. Julien had finally turned off his stereo and went to bed.

"He got fluffier." Private said. "I was curious about why Julien seemed so fluffy in Madagascar, but he wasn't as furry here. Does he get a haircut and shave?"

"The answer to your question is: yes, Private, Julien does shave." Kowalski said.

"Do you miss being part of the Antarctic Force?" Private asked.

Rico offered an indifferent shrug.

"Not really." Kowalski said. "There was a point in which I found I could not expand my knowledge further by studying and training there. I had to go on missions and have a team."

Skipper sighed. "I suppose it's a matter of perspective." He said. "There are certain things and people that I will miss and others that I never did miss at all. I respect that it got us started as a team, but it can't finish the job. The rest is up to us."

"Should we find the others?"

"My gut feeling is that we should wait. It would be pointless to take a shot in the dark, hoping to hit our enemy. The strategic thing would be to prepare for the battles ahead. What's coming will come and we'll meet when it does."


	60. If only

As the months passed, the penguins started noticing tiny down feathers scattered among the Otter and Penguin habitats. Kowalski examined Tyson to find that the small penguin was shedding his down coat in preparation for shiny swim-ready feathers. Tyson had been wanting to get into the water for a long time, but hadn't been ready until now. The penguins decided to start with small lessons from them.

After having this transformation explained to her, Maya complained that she wanted swim feathers too. Julien tried to explain that lemurs don't grow feathers, but the one year old was only half listening as three different things caught her attention while he was speaking.

The baby penguin was not only learning to swim, train, and speak, but he was learning how to climb. If Maya knew what 'taking credit' meant, she would have taken credit for teaching Tyson how to drive everyone crazy. Having flippers made it harder for the small penguin to climb, but Maya helped him as much as she could. It also didn't help that Tammy was as hyper as Maya and Tyson combined and at times a bit more. She was often the one they had to keep an eye on more than they did Maya.

By the end of November, Tyson was able to swim with very close supervision and climb half as well as Maya. His words so far were: Mommy, Daddy, Pengy (Penguin), Uh-ya (Maya), Pie (Private), Kee (Kowalski), Cwabye (Classified), Eo (Rico).

Maya had taught him to say Classified and Penguin in her way. The young lemur had now been calling Rico 'Wico' instead of 'Eco'. All of Maya's words were pretty much the same as before.

The two kids also had a way of understanding each other even if they weren't speaking comprehensibly. Kowalski had walked in one day to find the two of them staring down the Lunacorn.

"Ur?" Tyson had grunted.

"Uh-huh." Maya responded.

"Achoo…"

"Endo!"

"Edo."

"Beeb."

"Urslu?"

Maya whipped her head around at him and gasped. "Nacho!" She said.

Tyson looked put to shame. "Gree…"

"Gondola."

"Glorp."

Maya shrugged.

At that point she had turned to find Kowalski standing there in wonder. He was mostly wondering where Maya had heard the word 'gondola' from and what exactly their conversation was about.

He had tried asking her, but she either didn't know or didn't care to tell. She then became distracted and forgot all about it.

…

They had realized a little late that they passed the anniversary of the first battle. The one in which they lost many members including Byron and Johnny Bone and nearly lost Skipper.

Kowalski recollected how he felt as the names of the missing were listed; the relief and sadness that washed over him at Private's appearance; the memory of the tears on the young penguin's face as he tried to explain that Johnson had been alive moments ago.

Rico had flashbacks of the panic before the trenches set on fire. He hadn't registered the words until too late. Being a pyrotechnic, he was used to fire and the sounds to go with it. He never really had a sense of fear until he actually felt it licking at his feet. He had attempted to scramble up, but got knocked back into the fire and ice. He had felt the searing blast of fire on his side and the sting of ice on the burn. That was the last he could remember until he woke up in the relocated village.

Private remembered the fear of hitting and killing someone. Some of the animals on Blowhole's side were the same species as those on the Antarctic Force. He never did fire his weapon. He ditched it when the trenches were set on fire. He had managed to get a sufficient amount of air in his lungs before he was knocked into the water. He had floated until he got stuck in a small ice cave underwater. There was a small pocket of air in which Private had found himself in when he woke up. He had gone back to the surface to find the ravaged remains of the ground in which they battled.

Skipper tried not to remember, but it was hard. He had thought of his teammates and the fact that they needed the leader. He never told the enemy what they wanted to know. Even when they used needles to torture him, he stayed as silent as his mentor. He had been forced to watch Johnny be tortured and beaten.

They tried to be cheerier than last year as they celebrated Tyson's first birthday. They hadn't been sure exactly when he was hatched, but they estimated to be around the New Year so they had his birthday on January third. It wasn't the biggest party, but it ended up better than Maya's because he didn't lose his adopted parents.

Maya still looked hopeful sometimes as if her mother would walk right up to her. Maurice and Julien both caught her crying in her sleep some nights. Kowalski wondered if this was a step forward in Maya's grieving process or it was a step back and cause her to eventually be resentful that Josie couldn't be saved. Even though there were some nights where she cried herself to sleep, she never let it get to her during the day. She had a huge smile and kept playing with Tyson and the other animals. On Christmas Eve, she hadn't spoken to anyone; she just stared off into the distance with a vacant expression. Christmas Day, she was back to her old self.

Marlene suggested that this was Maya's way of coping and moving on. Perhaps the young lemur had gotten her final proof that her mother wasn't coming back and decided to move on. She still cried at night, though, as if she thought no one would notice.

Mort felt extremely guilty, but everyone decided that it was best that Maya never knew he was the cause of it. He was finally on the road to being forgiven.

…

The zoo was operating as Alice liked it and things seemed pretty normal by Maya's second birthday. Looking back, all anyone would be able to see were the additions to the zoo. There were six more penguins: Rikki, Rocky, Tyson, Charlie, Tammy and Mikayla. Two more lemurs: Nat and Maya. And one otter named Izzy.

It was as if nothing much had changed, at least in the New Yorkers perspectives. They knew that Josie had passed away, but thought that Julien was the father. No one had been told about Josie's second baby or how she had died. The story in the zoo reports were that Jack Sullivan had been carrying Josie back from a doctor appointment and strayed too close to sparking wires and been electrocuted along with the lemur.

Strangely enough, no one asked about the constant appearance and disappearance of any of the animals. No one in Hoboken had reported Nat missing. She expressed the desire to remain in New York even though no official paperwork had been filed. She said it was fine because she never really belonged anywhere but Wisconsin before.

…

In Mid-February, the penguins, lemurs, and chimps got email invitations. Mason and Phil printed it out and brought it to the penguin habitat. Julien came over with Maurice and Maya.

"Why is there the interruption? I was doing kingly things of utmost royal importance!" Julien huffed.

"You were picking your toes." Maurice said flatly.

"Maurice! They do not all need to hear that!"

Mason shook his head. "Actually, this seems like something to get our spirits up. We've been invited to join a yearlong circus tour across the States and back."

"Circus?" Kowalski wondered.

Phil nodded with a smile. Mason had an identical grin on his face.

"Circus Zaragoza is back."

Private's face split into a wide grin and he began to sing under his breath. "Circus Afro, circu-"

"Wait! Did they say we could invite anyone?" Kowalski asked.

"POLKA DOT AFRO!" Private shouted.

"Afwo!" Maya squealed.

This caught the attention of Marlene who came over with Tyson, Izzy, Nat, and the rest of the penguins.

"Yes, anyone can come." Mason said. "I'll grab the lipstick."

Phil signed something that looked like the clothing. Mason nodded and both disappeared, leaving the paper behind.

"We never said we'd go." Skipper muttered.

"Please?" Private asked.

Maurice explained the whole circus thing to the others. Nat and Izzy politely declined, saying that they weren't overly fond of circuses.

"After the tour, we came home with Ringtail and his followers." Skipper said. "I never thought we'd go back on another tour."

"Wait, this isn't the same one that took Rico, is it?" Rikki asked.

"No." Rico said.

"This one was mainly in Europe." Kowalski said.

"Can we go, please?" Private asked again. "The kids would love it."

"It sounds fun." Charlie said.

"And Marlene could do that act with Julien again." Maurice suggested.

Marlene smiled. "I could help out."

"Sure, why not." Skipper said, a wild grin spreading across his face.

Rocky decided to step in. "Are you sure? Is everything okay?"

Skipper nodded. "Pack your things; we're going to the circus." He promptly disappeared inside the HQ.

Everyone gaped at each other.

…

After many glances exchanged, it was Kowalski and Rocky who headed down to check on Skipper.

Skipper was humming happily as he cleaned off the table.

"Sir, are you okay?" Kowalski asked.

"Never better, 'Walski!"

Rocky gave a confused look. "If you don't want to go, you don't have to."

"Can't let Private go by himself, silly!" Skipper said.

"Knock it off and tell us what's wrong." Rocky scowled.

Skipper sighed. "I know I told everyone that we shouldn't worry, but I can't help it…my gut says to not look for them but worry at the same time…"

"Then you guys go and take Tyson and Maya." Rocky said. "I can look after Tammy and Charlie. I'll take over their lessons and there will still be protectors at the zoo."

Skipper was about to respond when he heard scattering feet and a shout.

"Alice alert!" Private shouted.

…

The three of them hightailed it out just as Alice came to the habitat pool. She grabbed Skipper and whisked him to the infirmary.

"What the-? Lady, I'm not sick!" Skipper grumbled, trying to get out.

He was tossed into the cage as Alice called the doctor.

"He'll do, right?" Alice asked. "He's in the same age group as the other penguin."

"He'll do." The doctor said. He smiled.

"Wait, what?"

A needle was pulled out and Skipper screamed.

"AFEJARIEJGAENMVEAIOJFEIJNEEEDLENONONONONOTTHENEEDLE!"

From the outside, Tyson was getting scared. The others looked in shock. They raced to the infirmary to hear Skipper yell again.

"WAIT, WHERE ARE YOU PUTTING THAT?! WHAT THE HEAAAAHHHHH!"

"Skipper!" Rocky shouted.

"NO! NOT THAT! I DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR THIS! HEY! GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME! "

The penguins stacked up. Rico was on the bottom with Private on top of him, then Rocky, and Kowalski on top.

"Skipper?" Kowalski whispered.

Skipper was curled up in a ball, shivering.

"What did they do to you, my friend?" The scientist asked.

Skipper shook his head. "N-needle…I HATE needles…Stinkin' needles…" He shuddered.

Even when Skipper had been returned to the habitat, he refused to say exactly what happened to him in there.

…

Kowalski decided that the seventeen animals who originally wanted to go to the circus could go opening night in New York. Skipper, still a mess, shakily agreed.

The circus was as great as they could expect. They only wished Tammy hadn't found the cotton candy. She insisted on sharing it with Tyson and Maya. It was a very sleepless night for some of the animals.

Two days later, the circus was ready to head to the next place.

Marlene was extremely tired and felt unwell from having to run after the sugar hyper kids. Mikayla and Charlie said they had their fill of circus and would stay behind to guard the zoo.

Rikki decided to stay too because she didn't think she could get the full excitement because she was blind. Rocky stayed with her.

Mort had gotten himself sick on candy he got from Tammy. Both of them were to stay too. Maurice, who needed a break as well, decided to stay.

That left Skipper, Rico, Kowalski, Private, Julien, Maya, Tyson, Phil and Mason. The chimps were going to do their own thing in costume, leaving the penguins and lemurs to do what they wanted.

Skipper said that they could tour for a few states and then head back. Rocky had access to their plane and it was in working condition. She could pick them up at any time with a location signal.

…

"Hey, it's nice to see you again!" Gloria said with a smile.

"You too." Skipper said. "Our group isn't as big as the other night, but we have two youngsters with us."

"Aww, so cute!" The hippo scooped up Maya and Tyson into a big hug. The two of them squealed and tried to wiggle out.

After one town, Vitaly spotted Tyson and Maya doing a funny dance routine. He suggested making them a special part of the act.

Julien wholeheartedly agreed. He and Sonya had reconnected. They had parted on good terms like Skipper and Marlene did. Julien explained what happened with Josie and the bear was very sympathetic. Maya had the most fun with Sonya and wanted to go inside the bear's mouth.

The only danger was that Sonya sometimes slept like a rock and couldn't feel a little lemur wiggling around. The nearly two year old was almost swallowed twice before Kowalski put her in Tyson's special crib.

As they opened with the dancing babies, they nearly had to pull them out. Tyson grew wide eyed at the amount of humans and almost refused to go. Maya, however, dragged the penguin out and began to squeal and dance. The audience clapped and cheered. Tyson was mortified until Maya grabbed his face and grinned at him.

The penguin and the lemur seemed to silently come to some sort of agreement. Tyson focused his short attention span on Maya's tail and tried to catch it. This gave her the opportunity to try some flips to make Tyson spin around after the tail. Maya loved every bit of it and soaked up the attention of the crowd. She cried when it came time for the rest of the show. She hadn't wanted it to end.

After a few shows, she got over it and accepted that she had to share.

This prompted the animals to stay on the tour. They were going to be gone for a whole year, hoping nothing much would change drastically in New York. They were to be given reports from Rocky every week. She encouraged them to let loose and just have fun.

And that they did. For an entire year, plus an eight month encore performance that included parts of Canada and Mexico. They even had one performance where a girl named Abby joined a routine Rico had made up that involved Private and fireworks. Hearts were pounding with fright when she was shot up into the air, but she landed safely as Rico had promised.

For those twenty months, it seemed like nothing changed. It seemed like they were back to their Madagascar days. Julien and Maya were too busy to think of Josie. The boys had not thought about the upcoming struggles.

It was bliss.

Pure bliss that begged to stay, but knew it couldn't last forever. If only though, if only it could last forever.

**A/N: This was the easiest way to skip time without missing out on too much. Tyson's birthday was similar to Maya's without the painful parts. Sorry if the reunion wasn't as great as you hoped. I wasn't planning on using those characters, but they gave me a reason to skip time which I needed to do. I was originally planning on skipping until Tyson was thirteen, but that seemed too long, so he will instead be almost three and Maya almost four on their return.**

**If you would like to be mentioned in the story or a character of yours have a brief cameo, please let me know. I might not write full scenes with them, but they could have a cameo later as an agent or new recruit or something.**

**I'm sorry for keeping you waiting. I do know what it's like to wait for a story to update and I hope you can bear with me **

**Thank you for sticking with me and for over one hundred reviews! -TK**


	61. Can't go back

Gone.

Scorched.

The entire eastern cost was gone. Chunks of scorched land protruded from the ocean. The setting sun turned the ocean an angry red. A brown haze covered what used to be the city. Half of the States were leveled and gray.

It was covered in ash. It looked like a twisted version of Mars.

Devoid of life.

The air was humid, thick, and occasionally sent angry whips of wind shooting across the rough land.

Crumbled buildings and trash stuck to the ground, but the lighter things blew around. A plastic bag drifted across what used to be Central Park Zoo and landed in the tainted waters of either the penguin or otter habitats. It was hard to tell since they'd been forcibly combined from the destruction.

The water had a reddish hue to it, making it stand out from the bleak gray earth. There were spots of red from those who had been inside buildings, but the people had mostly died of suffocation and radiation poisoning. Their bodies were littered across the earth.

The animals of Central Park had been decimated in the first fires. There were no signs of animals or humans there, not even a single body was able to be recovered, if there was anyone left to recover anything...

Turn back.

You could turn back…

Only to see the Midwest and Western half being bombarded. The Earth shook, trying to hang onto what it had left.

Only…you'd be dead in a millisecond along with the rest of them.

It took two minutes to fall and detonate. It took less than one minute to level the rest of the States.

It didn't stop there though.

Within the hour, the entire world was gone. None survived. Even the ones who brought destruction did not survive. Every being from the largest animal to the tiniest microscopic organism was gone.

The earth was still.

It did not revolve around the sun. It didn't even rotate upon its own axis.

Weeks later, it began moving again. It moved at an odd angle, but it moved…until it strayed across the Moon's path. Once the moon had been caught by the Earth's gravitational pull, it was sucked in. It took days for the Moon to crash into the atmosphere and two hours for it to crash into the once living planet.

The core couldn't handle the pressure and exploded. The Moon was forced from the Earth as it exploded.

The third rock from the sun was no more.

The Moon rolled across the span of space. It took a decade for the damaged Moon to stray far enough from the Earth until it was caught by the sun.

No matter how it revolved around the sun, it constantly drifted through the remains of Earth, spreading them like a disease.

Twenty years passed before the Moon crossed paths with Mercury and Venus.

Like a game of Pool, the Moon was the starting ball. It crashed into one, causing it to crash into another, sending all three out of the sun's control and eventually into the gaseous giants.

Jupiter exploded and Saturn's rings were damaged. Neptune and Uranus were fused together. Pluto was destroyed. The Sun's pull was able to regain control of the planets. Mars had nearly been flattened by Saturn and Mercury.

Of course these events took years. It was two thousand years before the sun could get control.

Unfortunately, it was too late for visitors.

Voyager 1 had been successful in coming into contact with life forms.

The Squee aliens were an unusual looking people, but they were able to interpret Earth's messages as friendly. They were pretty sure they knew what our Solar System looked like, so they followed Voyager's path back.

Their ships were faster than our technology was and they were able to arrive. Their triangular jaws dropped at the sight of the clustered system.

The remains of Earth were not promising. The atmosphere had been torn apart. They beamed down to the planet in suits and looked at the piece they landed on. They were able to figure out that some sort of war happened. They examined the body of a young man and determined that he died of suffocation.

A lone paper drifted across their view. It had been damaged by time, but it was taken back to the ship for translating.

The message took ages to figure out, but finally they did it.

The message was: I love you, S+M

…

…

…

"What kind of story was that?!" Rikki asked.

Izzy grinned. "A cool one!"

"How would the Moon cause all that damage?" Mikayla asked.

"How did Jupiter explode?" Tammy asked.

"Am I in the story?" Mort asked.

"I would guess you were in the remains of the zoo, being…well, dead." Maurice said.

"But I was in it!" Mort said happily.

"I told you, the Moon spun out of control." Izzy said. "And we were literally wiped off the face of the earth."

"You don't know much about science, do you?" Marlene asked.

"Do you?" Izzy retorted.

"No, but I know that Earth wouldn't stop moving because of a nuclear war." Marlene said. "And after two thousand years, an exposed and decomposing body would be dust. Probably faster due to radiation."

"And the core wouldn't explode the planet into a million pieces like that." Nat said.

"I said chunks!" Izzy said defensively.

"Please don't." Marlene said.

"Chunky chunks!"

Marlene shook her head. "You are impossible."

"He really is." Nat said.

"Where's Rocky when you need her?" Rikki sighed.

"Flying the plane to get the others back." Marlene said. "I wish they were back now. It's been too long without them…by the way, who was the message talking about?"

"Sandwich and Mayo." Izzy said.

Tammy squealed excitedly, evidentially forgetting that her original question on the fate of Jupiter had gone unanswered. The others snickered.

"Actually, I think it means Spaghetti and Meatballs." Charlie said.

Everyone busted out laughing.

…

It wasn't that long of a flight to get to where the penguins were, but it was a while before they actually got on the plane.

Rocky had landed in Massachusetts early in the morning and was still there at three in the afternoon.

Maya was covered in makeup and didn't want to leave. Gloria had fallen in love with Tyson and he took full advantage of that. He loved sliding down Melman's neck too. Private and Julien were having dance parties with the others and Skipper couldn't get them away. Then they lost Rico when he was asked about how to make the stunts cooler. The chimps had gone nuts and weren't going to come to their senses anytime soon.

Skipper and Kowalski felt that they were the only sane ones until Rocky came.

It took hours to convince Maya that going back to the zoo was a good thing. It took a further two hours to get Tyson to fall asleep so they could put him in the plane without trouble.

Kowalski had to shut off the music and drag Private and Julien to the plane. Upon seeing this, Maya stopped all attempt to fight and got into the plane, waving to the circus animals. Phil and Mason were sad to leave, but they agreed when Rico nearly burnt their outfit by accident. At that point, Skipper told Rico he was done.

…

The next day, Skipper pulled his team aside before training. Rocky, Rikki and Charlie started training up top. The other penguins were at the otter habitat.

"Boys, I have a gut feeling that something's going to happen soon." The leader announced. He picked up a bag of supplies and put it on. "I'm getting this ready, just in case."

Private immediately looked worried. "S-soon? But everything was going well." He said.

"Too well." Skipper said. "Everything is quiet and I want to know why."

"I don't." Private mumbled.

Kowalski sighed. "I had this feeling as well, sir, I just thought it might have been gas."

Rico snickered.

"ALICE ALERT!" Charlie yelled.

The boys ran up top to see Alice crossing the wooden bridge with a crate.

"A new penguin?" Kowalski wondered.

Alice opened it and looked around. "What the-?"

"It's empty, sir." Charlie said.

"Where are the others?" Private asked.

A happy squeal answered them.

"Pengy bouncy!" Maya said.

"Bouncy!" Tyson repeated.

Alice heard the animal noises and took the crate to investigate.

"How did you penguins get over here?" She asked. "Never mind." She entered the habitat door.

"MARLENE!" Mikayla yelled.

Skipper jumped the fence and hurried to the wall.

"TYSON!" Marlene yelled.

Alice had put the baby penguin in the crate. He was crying loudly.

"Pengy Tys'n!" Maya cried. She ran after him.

Mikayla tried to stop her, tripped, and rolled into the crate. Alice closed the crate and took it out. She had evidentially not noticed the older penguin.

"Maya?" Julien called.

Skipper swept the habitat with his eyes and understood. Maya had accidentally been knocked inside when Mikayla tripped.

The boys hurriedly followed Alice with the other penguins, Marlene, and the lemurs. It was chaos as they shouted to one another if they saw something. Julien shouted that he saw the crate and he ran after it. He managed to grab onto the bottom of it as Alice brought it into the truck. She turned and the animals scattered.

Skipper slid forward and jumped in, kicking the top open. Julien reached in and pulled Maya out.

"Hey!" Alice snapped.

Julien became startled and fell in. Private managed to distract Alice by squawking loudly. Rico jumped in and took Maya out of the truck. Skipper jumped in the crate, followed by Kowalski.

"Alright, we'll give you a boost up." Skipper said.

Mikayla nodded.

"First, Tyson-"

THUD!

The crate shook violently as it closed. They felt the rumble as the truck started up. Alice closed the trunk and shouted something. The truck's wheels screeched as it set off from the zoo. Skipper

"What's going on?" Julien asked. "Where's Maya?"

"Rico got her out." Skipper said. He held Tyson close. The baby penguin had stopped crying, but was shaking and whimpering.

"Where are we going?" Mikayla asked.

"I don't know." Kowalski said. "How did that happen so fast?"

"Julien, give me your crown." Skipper said.

Julien scoffed. "You are not royalty, what make-"

"Give it." Skipper said in a low tone, trying not to smack Julien.

Kowalski took it off the lemur's head and looked inside. A small device was attached to the inside.

There was a jolting movement as the crate was lifted out and moved around. They were tossed around a little until it stopped.

"Crown one to Ground Control, do you read?" Skipper said into the crown.

No response came from the device.

"Skipper, you still have that bag." Kowalski said. "Could I see?"

Skipper took it off and gave it to Kowalski. Tyson looked disgruntled at the movement, but went back to burying himself in Skipper's chest.

Kowalski dug into the bag and found a radio. "Rico? Rico, do you read?"

They felt another rumble, lighter this time.

"'Kowalski?" Private's voice came from the radio. "What just happened? We've been trying to figure it out."

"I need you guys to bust into the computer room and find out." Skipper said.

"W…try…Sk…er…"

"Private?"

Static responded.

…

"We'll try, Skipper."

Private looked at Rocky. "We need to get into Alice's office."

"Alright, you're the team leader now." Rocky said.

Private blinked. "I-I am? But I-"

"No buts, we're here on your order so let's get moving!" Rikki said.

"Right." Private said. He lifted the radio. "Don't worry, guys, we're going to help."

They never received a response.

Maya was given to Maurice to look after. Tammy was tasked with distracting Alice, a job she said she'd been waiting her whole life for. Izzy and Nat were to help with this mission if needed.

Rico and Rikki were in charge of watching the door as Private, Marlene, Rocky, and Charlie entered the office. The chimps were too tired to help, so it was up to Rocky who could barely read.

Rocky entered a few passwords and searched the web.

"Click the envelope." Marlene said.

Rocky nodded and opened the mail. She picked the most recent and immediately backed out, shuddering.

"What did it say?" Private asked.

"Let's just say, Alice sends herself fan mail." Rocky said.

"Wait, I think that says penguin." Marlene said. "I've been practicing." She added to the penguins surprised looks.

"It does." Rocky opened the one Marlene pointed out and scanned it. "I am really bad at this…"

"Can you read it though?" Charlie asked.

"Baby penguin? I think it's about Tyson. I'll print it out."

They left Alice's office with the paper. Private was about to tell Tammy that her mission was completed, but she was having too much fun.

The chimps came over a few hours later to decipher the paper.

"Alice received an email telling her that the baby penguin's parents had been found and they were depressed because they missed their baby." Mason said, translating Phil.

"What?!" Marlene said. "Tyson was abandoned!"

"My team found him alone without any footprints nearby. No one came to claim him." Rocky said. "Where is this message from?"

"According to this, Tyson's being shipped to Alaska." Mason added. "I believe that Skipper, Kowalski, Julien, and Mikayla are going too."

"Wait, Mikayla can't go back to Alaska." Private said.

They tried contacting Skipper, but the airplane signals were interfering.

…

It took a very long, boring, and stinky eight hours to land. The crate had to be cleaned out. The penguins and Julien didn't resist. They had planned on how to instruct Private and Rico to pick them up.

They were also curious to see where they were and why they were there.

They were put into the crate again and sent in an unknown vehicle. The radio buzzed.

"Skipper!" Private said once Kowalski fished it out.

"What's wrong, soldier? Where are we?" Skipper asked.

"Could you cover Tyson's ear holes?" Marlene asked.

Skipper complied. "Okay."

"Alice received an email about a reserve wanting Tyson back. We also traced Julien's crown and the radio to follow you. You're in Alaska."

"WHAT?!" Mikayla started hyperventilating. "C-can't…go…back…no…"

Kowalski shoved the radio into Julien's hands and grabbed Mikayla's flippers. "Hey." He said. "We need to share the breathing room. Relax."

Mikayla tried to slow down her breaths, but she was looking around for an escape route.

"It's going to be fine." Kowalski said. "We'll make sure nothing happens to you."

Another few hours passed until they heard crunching footsteps. The crate was lifted and set down. Kowalski took Tyson as Skipper took a protective stance. The crate opened.

"Come on out, little guy, your family is waiting." A kind voice said.

Julien stepped out, followed by the penguins.

"Hey, what are all you doing here?" The man said. "Oh, there you are." He reached for Tyson and Skipper snapped his beak at the hand. "Hey!"

Kowalski turned away, but another pair of hands grabbed Tyson. He tried to hold on, but was pushed off roughly.

The penguins squawked protests as the second human took Tyson further into the reserve.

Skipper and Kowalski slid after them.

The human put Tyson down next to a pair of adult penguins. "Here's your baby." She said, patting the adult female." The woman left, not noticing the other penguins or Julien. The man had evidentially forgotten about them too and left.

Skipper put on a smile and was about to approach the couple when the female spoke.

"Oh, I missed you so much!" She scooped up Tyson. Tyson squealed uncomfortably and tried to squirm out.

Skipper's beak fell open.

"Can I help you?" The male asked, spotting Skipper and Kowalski.

"Yeah, you can unhand my son." Skipper growled.

"Daddy!" Tyson said, looking at Skipper.

"Daddy's here." The male penguin said.

"Then where were you when he was abandoned at three weeks?" Kowalski asked.

"He ran off!" The female said.

"Malee ah mama." Tyson said.

"Mama's right here, sweetie." She said.

Tyson shook his head. "Malee ah mama."

"Marlene my mama, that's what he's saying." Skipper said. "You have two options, give him back and we'll leave peacefully, or fight and I'll have an entire army on your feathery butts in a second."

"PENGY AKALA!" Tyson screamed before any of the others could respond.

…

Mikayla's heart pounded. She grabbed Julien and ran towards the scream, pushing away the fact that she was in Alaska. She had sworn never to return as long as she was unwanted, but this was different. Having helped raise Tyson for about a year along with Maya, she felt compelled to tend to the needs of the children. She ran towards that type of scream, not in fear of them, but in fear of what might have happened to cause that reaction. She had memorized their cries by now and definitely knew Tyson was in distress.

Julien yelped as he was pulled along with her.

"Tyson?!" She skidded to a stop when she saw Tyson. Julien crashed into her, sending them face first into the ice. She let go and helped the lemur up. "Tyson, are you okay?"

"No." The baby penguin responded.

"He doesn't understand what he wants." The female penguin said. "He's just a baby and you brainwashed him."

"NO BAF! NO WANT BAF!" He kicked and screamed as these strange penguins kept hold of him.

"Let him go!" Mikayla yelled.

"Who are you?" The male penguin asked, grunting as Tyson repeatedly kicked him in the stomach.

"I'm his babysitter. Who are you?"

"We're his parents…wait a minute…I know you." The female squinted. "Look, Hal, doesn't she look familiar?"

"You're right, Hattie, I've seen her before." The male said.

A few curious penguins approached them to see what was going on. Tyson was still kicking Hal.

"Tyson, don't worry, we'll help you." Kowalski said.

"Can we settle this without prying eyes?" Skipper asked. "You still have yet to make a decision."

It was a stare down between Skipper and Kowalski vs. Hal and Hattie. Mikayla was determined to keep looking at the squirming Tyson, trying to figure out what to do. Julien was picking his nose and the crowd was confused and tense.

The crowd was silent, save for Tyson, until…

…

…

…

"What's SHE doing here?!"

"Get out of here, murderer!"

"I knew I recognized her!"

"She probably kidnapped that baby!"

"Trying to kill it is more likely."

"BEGONE, MURDERER!"

"Kowalski, do something!"

"I'm not Rico!"

"DADDY!"

"Kowalski!"

"GOT IT!"

BOOM!

They were covered in smoke. It was impossible to make out a thing.

SMACK!

"AAAAHH!"

"Daddy?!"

"Not quite. Catch!"

THWACK!

"OW, MY ROYAL-MMPH!"

"MOVE IT, RINGTAIL!"

The crowd of penguins yelled and ran, not knowing where they were going.

"STOP!" Hal yelled.

The frightened crowd looked around as the smoke dissipated. The animals of Central Park were nowhere to be seen.

**A/N: Before you say anything about the first part of the chapter, Izzy was narrating it to entertain the others. It was one of many stories that didn't make sense and were scientifically inaccurate. Trust me when I say many…he wouldn't stop telling stories for the entire year and nine months. I have no explanation for how Jupiter exploded…and neither does Izzy.**


End file.
